I. pat 1 /pæt/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle patted , present participle patting ) [transitive]
1 . to lightly touch someone or something several times with your hand flat, especially to give comfort ⇨ stroke :
He patted the dog affectionately.
2 . pat somebody/yourself on the back to praise someone or yourself for doing something well:
You can pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ touch somebody gently or lovingly
▪ stroke to move your hand gently over something, especially in a loving way:
She stroked the child’s hair.
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Our cat won’t let people stroke him.
▪ pat to touch an animal or child lightly several times, with your hand flat:
He knelt down to pat the dog.
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She patted the little boy’s head.
▪ pet to touch and move your hand gently over someone, especially an animal or child:
The goats, pigs, sheep, and cows here allow you to pet them.
▪ caress /kəˈres/ to gently touch a part of someone’s body in a loving way:
a mother caressing her child
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She caressed his cheek.
▪ fondle to touch a part of someone’s body in a loving or sexual way – use this especially about touching someone in a sexual way that is not wanted:
He tried to fondle her and she immediately pulled away from him.
II. pat 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: From the sound made by patting ]
1 . a friendly act of touching someone with your hand flat:
Mrs Dodd gave the child a pat on the head.
2 . pat of butter a small flat amount of butter
3 . a pat on the back informal praise for something that you have done well:
Alex deserves a pat on the back for all his hard work.
⇨ ↑ cowpat
III. pat 3 BrE AmE adjective [usually before noun]
a pat answer or explanation seems too quick and too simple and sounds as if it has been used before:
There are no pat answers to these questions.
IV. pat 4 BrE AmE adverb
1 . have something off pat British English , have something down pat American English to know something thoroughly so that you can say it, perform it etc immediately without thinking about it SYN (off) by heart
2 . stand pat American English to refuse to change your opinion or decision