patchier; patchiest
1
: marked by, consisting of, or diversified with patches
2
: irregular in appearance, makeup, or quality
patchily adverb
patchiness noun

Examples of patchy in a Sentence

The lawn is kind of patchy this year. Patchy fog made driving difficult. His knowledge of the language is patchy. She has only a patchy understanding of his condition.
Recent Examples on the Web But a cold front expected to arrive later in the day will push all the moisture to the east and will cool things down considerably with patchy frost expected early Sunday in some parts of the region. David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 Thursday night looks cloudier again with patchy drizzle possible as lows range through the 40s. Matt Rogers, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 There are signs that China’s EV market is slowing, amid a patchy economic recovery which has weighed on consumer sentiment. Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 27 Feb. 2024 In a pilot study, the hair mats are being used as a mulch on the patchy park land. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Jack McCoy’s backstory is pretty patchy, even after 19 seasons. Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024 But rather than heralding the start of an imposing run, the results have been patchy. Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 Even outside of this watch area and time frame, patchy flooding is still slightly possible due to the combination of moderately heavy and persistent rain falling on saturated soil. A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2024 Individual animals can be identified by patchy knobs of skin on their heads, called callosities, that are covered with whale lice. USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patchy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of patchy was in 1583

Dictionary Entries Near patchy

Cite this Entry

“Patchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patchy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

patchy

adjective
patchier; patchiest
: consisting of or marked by patches : resembling patchwork
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!