patchy
/ˈpæt͡ʃi/adjective
patchy is spelled P-A-T-C-H-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, patchy means “Full of, or covered with, patches; abounding in patches” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in patchy?
| Letters | 6: P-A-T-C-H-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is patchy?
Patchy appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce patchy?
- /ˈpæt͡ʃi/
Patchy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-patchy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of patchy
- patchier comparative
- patchiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does patchy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Full of, or covered with, patches; abounding in patches.
- 2
Not constant or continuous; intermittent or uneven.
patchy clouds
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Patchy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Full of, or covered with, patches:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | hecho a retales |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does patchy come from?
From patch + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).