pat

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

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

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

   “It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter.”

4. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping)Clipping of patent.
5. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping)Clipping of pattern.

   “Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder[…]”

6. (offensive, possibly, slang)An Irish person.

   “I'll do it, sir, by the honor of the Pats, just take your two good looking selves into the garden, […]”

   “The stereotypes of the Irish were more negative. Irish men, the “Pats,” were seen as “always drunk, eternally fighting, lazy, and shiftless.””

7. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of point after touchdown (“extra point”).
8. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of provincial achievement test.
9. (Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of portable appliance testing.
10. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of port address translation.
11. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of protocol associated type.

    “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.”

12. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of personal access token.
13. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.
14. (US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of priority air traffic.

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.”

   “He came round to each of us to pat and speak to us for the last time; his voice sounded very sad.”

2. To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat

   “I patted the cookie dough into shape.”

   “Before they went to see Glinda, however, they were taken to a room of the Castle, where Dorothy washed her face and combed her hair, and the Lion shook the dust out of his mane, and the Scarecrow patted himself into his best shape, and the Woodman polished his tin and oiled his joints.”

3. (Australia, New-Zealand, South-Africa, UK)To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet.

   “Do you want to pat the cat?”

4. To gently rain.

adj

1. Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.

   “a pat expression”

   “Your scruples and arguments bring to my mind a story so pat, you may think it is coin’d, on purpose to answer you, out of my mint; but, I can assure you, I saw it in print.”

   “Come, stack arms, Men! Pile on the rails; stir up the campfire bright; no matter if the canteen fails, we'll make a roaring night. Here Shenandoah brawls along, there burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, to swell the Brigade's rousing song, of “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.” We see him now — the old slouched hat cocked o’er his eye askew, the shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat, so calm, so blunt, so true.”

2. 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.”

   “The pat answer is that college students should consider graduate school as a way to delay a job search until things turn around, and that more high school students should go to college to improve their prospects.”

   “Space Jam: A New Legacy takes almost nothing but wrong turns, all leading to a glittering CGI trash heap of cameos, pat life lessons, and stale internet catchphrases.”

   “Pat responses from management seemed to be multiple variations on the theme of “We value your feedback.””

3. (slang)Upper-class, nobby.

adv

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.”

   “His nose sitteth flat on the face of him as it were a dab of clay, and I can see pat up his nostrils a summer day’s journey into his head.”

   “Candidates in gubernatorial campaigns must stand pat in the middle, trying to push their rivals off the center line, charging the opponent with either left or right extremism.”

   “In Ogoni[land], Shell locations lie pat in the middle of villages, in front and back gardens – and that should lay a particular responsibility on Shell to be absolutely cautious in its operations.”

name

1. A diminutive of the female given name Patricia.
2. 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.”

3. A surname from Khmer or Yucatec Maya.
4. (Quebec, abbreviation, alt-of)Abbreviation of Pointe-aux-Trembles: a municipality of Quebec, Canada.