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# pat

«pat» in Mova's school dictionary: **to touch someone or something gently and quickly with…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (pat, pats, patted, patting); noun (a pat, pats); adverb (off pat — learned perfectly)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To pat means to touch someone or something gently and quickly with your flat hand, several times. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#m1)

2) A pat is a light, gentle touch with your hand. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#m2)

3) A pat of butter is a small flat piece. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#m3)

4) To have something off pat means to know it perfectly by heart. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, you pat a dog to stroke it gently (ask the owner first and let the dog sniff your hand), pat someone on the back to say «well done», and pat dry a wet face or a graze with a towel instead of rubbing. «A pat on the back» means praise. In cooking, «pat the dough flat». In school, «have your times tables off pat» means know them perfectly.

### examples

- Can I pat your dog? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x1)
- Ask the owner before you pat a dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x2)
- Pat your skin dry with a towel. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x3)
- The teacher gave me a pat on the back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x4)
- She patted the dough into a circle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x5)
- He had the poem off pat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x6)
- A pat of butter melted on the toast. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x7)
- And then his grandmother patted his head and told him other stories. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/#x8)

### note

Regular verb: patted, patting (double t). «Pat» is gentle; «tap» is a light knock; «slap» is hard and can hurt. «Pat» is also a short name for Patrick or Patricia.

### In the corpora

- [He pats both their heads and says «This is not the sort of night for small animals to be out.»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/37-willows-ch4-part1-mr-badger/14/)
- [The Rat says nothing for a while, just pats his shoulder.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/42-willows-ch5-part2-mole-end/3/)
- [The Cat pats his cheek and tickles him with his tail, and the Baby laughs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/94-justso-cat-2-a-bargain-and-a-baby/13/)
- ["Enhanced pat-down" is a US official phrase for a thorough body search, for example at an airport.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/14/)
- [Always ask the owner before you pat a dog, and wait for them to say yes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/22-meeting-a-dog-safely/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «pat» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/pat/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.