pat

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“
If the pat was the admiration Gambhir deserved, the mock push manifested the trauma that the batsman in the zone had given to those around him during his long in-the-face knocks.

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Definitions (41)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (14)

  1. transitive verb To tap gently with the open hand or with something flat.
  2. transitive verb To stroke lightly as a gesture of affection.
  3. transitive verb To mold by tapping gently with the hands or a flat implement.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (16)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (7)

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Examples (50)

  • If you've already given yourself a pat on the back for your smart water choices, give yourself a second pat -- because your smart choice is about to get eco-smarter, especially during this economic downturn. —  BlogHer
  • She has the Public Relations thing down pat, and she understands the medical aspect as well. —  Hot Air » Top Picks
  • Sean's loss comes at a high price tag when he's forced to work off the debt under the thumb of ex-pat, Han (Kang). —  Empire Movies
  • But once you've got the target audience thing down pat, there's no resting on your laurels. —  Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing
  • You'd think that being a British ex-pat, Andy Beal would have had many opportunities to speak at SES London in the past. —  Search Engine Watch Blog
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This word has been looked up 162 times.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

hug ·  slap ·  squeeze ·  handshake ·  shake ·  nod ·  kiss ·  chuckle ·  caress ·  greet ·  peck ·  rub

Used in the same contextWord Family

pat:   pats ·  Pat ·  patted ·  patting
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (8)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. From Middle English, a blow, perhaps of imitative origin.
  2. From pat1.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (6)

  1. from Middle English *patten (not found), prob., with loss of medial l, from early Middle English platten, pletten, from Anglo-Saxon plættan, strike, slap, = Middle Dutch pletten, strike, bruise, crush, rub, = Swedish dial, plätta, tap, variant pjätta, tap; see plat. Cf. Middle High German and German dial. (Bavarian) patzen, pat. Hence freq. patter, pattle, and paddle. A similar loss of l appears in patch for platch, and pate for plate.
  2. from pat, v.
  3. An elliptical use, with adverbial effect, of pat, v. Cf. bang, slap, in like adverbial use.
  4. from pat, adv.; apparently first in predicate, where it is properly the adverb
  5. from Irish Gaelic pait, a hump, lump, Irish paiteog, Gaelic paiteag, a small lump of butter.
  6. Hindustani pāt.
 

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/pɑt/
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