pat

CEFRC1

/pæt/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To touch someone or something gently with a flat hand.

  2. 02

    noun

    A gentle touch with a flat hand.

Examples

  • Pat had prepared food and drink for the work party.

  • Pat stripped off his clothes and dived in.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.

  2. A light tap or slap, especially with the hands.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.

More examples

In context

  • Give Mary a pat on the shoulder to get her attention.

  • To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head.

  • We heard a pat on the door.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She gave the scared dog a gentle blank on its head to calm it.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English pat (“a blow, stroke”), alteration (with loss of medial l) of *plat (> Scots plat (“a blow, buffet”)), from Old English plætt (“a sounding blow, a smack”), from Proto-West Germanic *platt (“a smack, slap, blow”), from Proto-Germanic *plat- (“to strike, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *blod-, *bled- (“to strike, beat”). Cognate with Middle Dutch plat (“a smack, blow, slap”), Middle Low German plat (“a smack, blow, beating”), Middle High German plaz, blaz (“a resounding blow, bang, crash”). For loss of l, compare patch for platch; pate for plate, etc. See plat.