Adjacent Words

Pat definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PAT, a. Fit; convenient; exactly suitable either as to time or place. [Not an elegant word, but admissible in burlesque.]
PAT, adv. Fitly; conveniently.
PAT, n. A light quick blow or stroke with the fingers or hand.
PAT, v.t. To strike gently with the fingers or hand; to tap.
Gay pats my shoulder and you vanish quite.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having only superficial plausibility; "glib promises"; "a slick commercial" [syn: glib, pat, slick]
2: exactly suited to the occasion; "a pat reply" n
1: the sound made by a gentle blow [syn: pat, rap, tap]
2: a light touch or stroke [syn: tap, pat, dab] v
1: pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin [syn: chuck, pat]
2: hit lightly; "pat him on the shoulder" [syn: dab, pat] adv
1: completely or perfectly; "he has the lesson pat"; "had the system down pat"

Merriam Webster's

abbreviation point after touchdown

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English patte, probably of imitative origin Date: 15th century 1. a light blow especially with the hand or a flat instrument 2. a light tapping often rhythmical sound 3. something (as butter) shaped into a small flat usually square individual portion II. adverb Date: 1578 in a pat manner ; aptly, perfectly <has her part down pat> III. verb (patted; patting) Date: 1591 transitive verb 1. to strike lightly with a flat instrument 2. to flatten, smooth, or put into place or shape with light blows 3. to tap or stroke gently with the hand to soothe, caress, or show approval intransitive verb to strike or beat gently IV. adjective Date: 1646 1. a. exactly suited to the purpose or occasion ; apt b. suspiciously appropriate ; contrived <a pat ending> 2. learned, mastered, or memorized exactly 3. firm, unyielding 4. reduced to a simple or mechanical form ; standard, trite <pat answers> V. abbreviation patent

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a nickname for an Irishman. Etymology: abbr. of the name Patrick

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v. & n. --v. (patted, patting) 1 tr. strike gently with the hand or a flat surface. 2 tr. flatten or mould by patting. 3 tr. strike gently with the inner surface of the hand, esp. as a sign of affection, sympathy, or congratulation. 4 intr. (foll. by on, upon) beat lightly. --n. 1 a light stroke or tap, esp. with the hand in affection etc. 2 the sound made by this. 3 a small mass (esp. of butter) formed by patting. Phrases and idioms: pat-a-cake a child's game with the patting of hands (the first words of a nursery rhyme). pat on the back a gesture of approval or congratulation. pat a person on the back congratulate a person. Etymology: ME, prob. imit. 2. adj. & adv. --adj. 1 known thoroughly and ready for any occasion. 2 apposite or opportune, esp. unconvincingly so (gave a pat answer). --adv. 1 in a pat manner. 2 appositely, opportunely. Phrases and idioms: have off pat know or have memorized perfectly. stand pat esp. US 1 stick stubbornly to one's opinion or decision. 2 Poker retain one's hand as dealt; not draw other cards. Derivatives: patly adv. patness n. Etymology: 16th c.: rel. to PAT(1) 3. n. Phrases and idioms: on one's pat Austral. sl. on one's own. Etymology: Pat Malone, rhyming slang for own

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pat Pat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Patted; p. pr. & vb. n. Patting.] [Cf. G. patschen, Prov. G. patzen, to strike, tap.] To strike gently with the fingers or hand; to stroke lightly; to tap; as, to pat a dog. Gay pats my shoulder, and you vanish quite. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pat Pat, n. 1. A light, quik blow or stroke with the fingers or hand; a tap. 2. A small mass, as of butter, shaped by pats. It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter. --Dickens.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pat Pat, a. [Cf. pat a light blow, D. te pas convenient, pat, where pas is fr. F. passer to pass.] Exactly suitable; fit; convenient; timely. ``Pat allusion.'' --Barrow.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pat Pat, adv. In a pat manner. I foresaw then 't would come in pat hereafter. --Sterne.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pats, patting, patted) 1. If you pat something or someone, you tap them lightly, usually with your hand held flat. 'Don't you worry about any of this,' she said patting me on the knee... The landlady patted her hair nervously... Wash the lettuce and pat it dry. VERB: V n on n, V n, V n adj • Pat is also a noun. He gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. N-COUNT 2. A pat of butter or something else that is soft is a small lump of it. N-COUNT: usu N of n 3. If you say that an answer or explanation is pat, you disapprove of it because it is too simple and sounds as if it has been prepared in advance. There's no pat answer to that... ADJ [disapproval] 4. If you give someone a pat on the back or if you pat them on the back, you show them that you think they have done well and deserve to be praised. The players deserve a pat on the back... PHRASE: V inflects [approval] 5. If you have an answer or explanation down pat or off pat, you have prepared and learned it so you are ready to say it at any time. I have my story down pat... PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. (Colloq.) Fit, apt, pertinent, suitable, appropriate. II. ad. (Colloq.) Seasonably, fitly, aptly, conveniently, apropos. III. n. 1. Rap, dab, tap, hit, light blow. 2. Small lump, cake. 3. (Colloq.) [Abbreviated from St. Patrick, their patron saint.] Irishman, paddy, Milesian, Hibernian, son of Erin. IV. v. a. Rap, dab, tap, strike lightly, hit.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Apposite, or to the purpose.

Moby Thesaurus

a propos, ad rem, adamant, adamantine, adapted, applicable, apposite, appreciated, apprehended, appropriate, apropos, apt, artful endearments, ascertained, at a standstill, batch, beak, becoming, befitting, blandishments, block, brush, bulk, bump, bunt, caress, chink, chuck, chunk, click, clink, clod, clop, clump, clunk, cocker, coddle, comprehended, conceived, cosset, crump, dab, dandle, discerned, dovetailing, down pat, dull thud, endearment, felicitous, fillip, firm, fit, fitted, fitting, flick, flip, flirt, flump, fondle, frozen, geared, gob, grasped, graze, happy, honeyed words, hunk, immobile, immotile, immotive, immovable, inflexible, irremovable, just right, known, likely, loaf, lump, mass, meshing, nugget, on the button, opportune, pad, patter, peck, perceived, pet, pick, pitapat, pitter-patter, plump, plunk, pop, prehended, qualified, quantity, rap, realized, recognized, relevant, right, rigid, seasonable, seized, snap, soft words, sortable, standpat, stationary, suitable, suited, suiting, sweet nothings, sweet talk, tailored, tap, thud, thump, tick, tickle, tinkle, tip, to the point, to the purpose, touch, tunk, understood, unmovable, unmoving, unyielding, wad, whisk