A landing pattern is the standard path canopies fly on approach — typically a downwind leg, a crosswind base leg, then a final into wind. Its purpose is predictability: if everyone flies the same pattern, nobody has to guess what anyone else will do.
Predictability is the safety mechanism
Canopy collisions are among the more serious hazards in the sport, and they happen when flight paths are unexpected. A published pattern, flown consistently, is what prevents that.
Drop zones set their own patterns and direction based on the landing area, obstacles and the day's wind. They are covered in the DZ briefing, and visiting jumpers are expected to ask.
Separation by canopy speed
Many drop zones separate high-performance approaches from the standard pattern, either by area or by timing, because a swooping canopy and a student canopy in the same airspace is a poor combination.
These pages explain what things are so the language makes sense. They are not instruction and cannot substitute for it — skydiving is taught in person by rated instructors at a drop zone, and anything involving equipment handling or emergency procedures belongs there rather than on a web page.