What does "pat" mean?
The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.
Pat
/pæt/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.
- Grammar: pat is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: dab, tap, a propos, ad rem.
- Useful contrasts: backhanding, backhands, claw.
- Usage evidence: Pat stripped off his clothes and dived in.
How to use "pat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pat" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dab" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.
"We heard a pat on the door."
- 2 Clipping of patent. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
- 3 An Irish person. offensive, possibly, slang
"I'll do it, sir, by the honor of the Pats, just take your two good looking selves into the garden, […]"
- 4 Initialism of point after touchdown (“extra point”). abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 5 a light touch or stroke wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 A light tap or slap, especially with the hands.
"Give Mary a pat on the shoulder to get her attention."
- 7 Clipping of pattern. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
"Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder[…]"
- 8 Initialism of provincial achievement test. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 9 the sound made by a gentle blow wordnet
- 10 A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.
"It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter."
- 11 Initialism of portable appliance testing. Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 12 Initialism of port address translation. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 13 Initialism of protocol associated type. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
"Protocols are abstract as they are, but with PATs, you’re making your protocols generic, which makes your code even more abstract and exponentially complex."
- 14 Initialism of personal access token. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 15 Initialism of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 16 Initialism of priority air traffic. US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To (gently) tap the flat of one's hand on a person or thing.
"To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head."
- 2 hit lightly wordnet
- 3 To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat
"I patted the cookie dough into shape."
- 4 pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin wordnet
- 5 To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet. Australia, New-Zealand, South-Africa, UK
"Do you want to pat the cat?"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To gently rain.
Adjective
- 1 Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.
"a pat expression"
- 2 Upper-class, nobby. slang
- 3 Trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality.
"While most AIDS activists and researchers I spoke with agreed I shouldn't offer pat safe/unsafe categories, let me share some pretty widely accepted information."
Adjective
- 1 exactly suited to the occasion wordnet
- 2 having only superficial plausibility wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.
"Now might I do it pat"
- 2 Perfectly.
"He has the routine down pat."
- 3 Straight, right, exactly, precisely.
"Wauwa Pease says of the strategic position of the Pirates in the dining room: “They have taken the table near the upper doorway so they can make a speedy exit in case their lair is raided.” Of course, the Wauwas stand pat in the middle of the dining room, having nothing to fear."
Adverb
- 1 completely or perfectly wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the female given name Patricia.
- 2 A surname from Khmer or Yucatec Maya.
- 3 Abbreviation of Pointe-aux-Trembles: a municipality of Quebec, Canada. Quebec, abbreviation, alt-of
- 4 A diminutive of the male given name Patrick.
"One Nation, a new 501(c)4 linked to the Karl-Rove-backed American Crossroads super PAC, is spending more than $1.9 million on print, radio and digital ads highlighting the efforts of Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey to pass the “doc fix” legislation that realigned payments to Medicare providers with inflation."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Pat stripped off his clothes and dived in."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pat"?
Common synonyms include: dab, tap, a propos, ad rem, adamant, adamantine.
How do you use "pat" in a sentence?
Pat stripped off his clothes and dived in.
How do you pronounce "pat"?
Pronounced /pæt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English *patten, alteration (with loss of medial l) of platten, pletten (“to pat”), from Old English plættan (“to buffet, strike, slap, smack, give a sounding blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *blod-, *bled- (“to strike, beat”). Cognate with Middle Dutch platten, pletten (“to strike, bruise, crush, rub”), German platzen (“to split, burst, break up”), Bavarian patzen (“to pat”), Swedish plätta, pjätta (“to pat, tap”). For loss of l, compare patch for platch; pate for plate, etc. See plat.
Etymology 2
Clipping of patrician.
Etymology 3
Various origins: * Borrowed from Yucatec Maya Pat. This surname is mostly found in Yucatán. * Borrowed from Khmer.