Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Origin: From the sound made by patting

pat

2 noun
     
pat2 [countable]
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

DF 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.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

ADVERTISING AND MARKETINGANIMALSBANKING
BIOLOGYBUSINESS BASICSCOMPUTERS
CLOTHESDAILY LIFEEDUCATION
FINANCEFOODGRAMMAR
HAIR AND BEAUTYHUMANLAW
MUSICNATURESPORT
STOCKS AND SHARESTECHNOLOGYTRADE