patten
1 Americannoun
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any of various kinds of footwear, as a wooden shoe, a shoe with a wooden sole, a chopine, etc., to protect the feet from mud or wetness.
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a separate sole attached to a shoe or boot for this purpose.
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Building Trades. any stand or support, especially one of a number resting on unbroken ground as a substitute for a foundation.
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of patten
1350–1400; Middle English paten < Middle French patin wooden shoe, perhaps derivative of pate paw
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A similar contrivance, with the addition of an iron ring, leather strap and toe-cap, is still sometimes worn by farm servants, and is called a patten.
From The Evolution of Fashion by Florence Mary Gardiner
There is a most ungallant old riddle, "Why is a wife like a patten?"
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Alice Morse Earle
This morning we had on our new white dresses that Miss Rosewarne made and new summer hats and new patten leather shoes and our mitts.
From Village Life in America 1852-1872 Including the period of the American Civil War as told in the diary of a school-girl by Caroline Cowles Richards
But the magic of that one word patten wrought an instant revolution.
From The Uncollected Writings of Thomas de Quincey—Vol. 1 With a Preface and Annotations by James Hogg by James Hogg
Closing her eyes as she made this remark, in the acuteness of her commiseration for Betsey's patients, she forgot to open them again until she dropped a patten.
From Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
Janet Patten, Martin’s younger sister, flew in from New Jersey to support him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter have since reported that Adria Arjona, Eva De Dominici, Sydney Chandler and Grace Van Patten are among the actors testing for that role in the “Superman” sequel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
"With our tail between our legs, we drove back to Dubai - but that was quite upsetting because mentally it took me quite a lot to commit to that road trip to Muscat," Patten said.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
All European destinations had been booked by the time they got to Patten, who ended up settling for an 8am flight via Cairo the following morning.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
Captain Patten ordered the fire returned, giving the watchword, 'God and Liberty.'
From Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle The Father and Founder of the British Mission by Orson F. Whitney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.