pate
noun
the crown or top of the head.
pate
1 American
[peyt]
/ peɪt /
noun
-
pates
plural
-
the crown or top of the head.
-
the head.
-
the brain.
pâté
2
American
[pah-tey, pa‑, pah-tey, pa‑]
/ pɑˈteɪ, pæ‑, pɑˈteɪ, pæ‑ /
noun
-
pâtés
plural
-
French Cooking. a paste or spread made of puréed or finely chopped liver, meat, fish, game, etc., served as an hors d'oeuvre.
pâte
3
American
[paht]
/ pɑt /
noun
pâté
1
British
/ pɑte, ˈpæteɪ /
noun
-
a spread of very finely minced liver, poultry, etc, served usually as an hors d'oeuvre
-
a savoury pie of meat or fish
pate
2
British
/ peɪt /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pate1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, of uncertain origin
Origin of pâté2
From French, dating back to 1695–1705; see origin at paste, -ee
Origin of pâte3
First recorded in 1860–65; from French: literally, “dough, batter, paste”; see origin at paste
Compare meaning
How does pate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Your pate is the top of your head. But say the word with a French accent, and voila! Now it’s a savory spread made of ground meat and spices. Pâté (the food!) is sometimes served with bread or crackers. Although it’s like paste, some pates are considered a delicacy, like pâté de foie gras, the rich French dish made from goose liver, while other pates are made of different types of meat or even vegetarian ingredients. The pate you eat is usually spelled with its French accents — pâté — so you know to pronounce it with the emphasis on the final syllable, tay. A plain old pate is a jokey word for the top of the head that rhymes with fate.
Vocabulary lists containing pate
"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 4
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
Pizza popped up as often as pate on plates, while one caterer from La Reunion has won social media adulation for his gifts of cari, a spicy dish popular on the Indian Ocean island.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Shekoh Confections – Master Chocolatier Shekoh Moossavi creates hand-painted bonbons, sea-salt caramels and pate de fruits inspired by Persian heritage and French technique.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
With his bald pate, dark-framed glasses and knowing demeanor, he has become one of the foremost chroniclers of the world’s media barons and Manhattan potentates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025
Smoked fish, pate, cured meats and some soft cheeses such as camembert and brie have been linked with listeriosis.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2022
Through Turner, Mace said that he had never tasted, never even heard of, goose liver pate, and from now on, he would eat nothing else.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Long, chatty meals over wine and pâté fit perfectly into a post-pandemic craving for connection, especially among Gen-Z.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2025
Singer puts it this way: Lee often baked her favorite mushroom pâté and seed bread when they lived in Brooklyn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2024
"He's super. Dynamic, young, full of ideas. Why not, for now?" said Veronique Bacchi, buying pâté with her husband.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
Flambée, a French restaurant in Bogotá popular with diplomats and businesspeople, was for weeks selling homemade Dijon for around $7 a jar, roughly twice the usual price, alongside its lavish offerings of escargot and pâté.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2023
In the stone cellar we uncover blankets, crates of champagne, tins of French pâté, and a folder of glossy photographs of a woman called Gloria Swanson.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Indulge yourself with handcrafted, artisanal, small-batch chocolates, including yuzu pâte de fruit, sesame crunch, honey ganache and cinnamon zephyr ganache flavors.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
His version is made with a buttery pâte brisée and is served at room temperature.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2021
Begin with a smear of pâte di bottarga, fish roe whipped with anchovies and tuna, then sip broth fortified by pasta and potatoes.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2021
I mixed up all the ingredients, including the quick-rise yeast that the production substituted for era-appropriate pâte à choux, the French pastry base whose high moisture content helps éclairs rise.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2020
The cover of a pâte chaude case is often not used, and aspic jelly covers the top of the pie.
From Choice Cookery by Catherine Owen
The automaker says headliner pates on both sides of the cars may not be secured properly and could detach and hit drivers or passengers.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2022
Like bald pates, black holes of similar masses and spins then have no details—no “hair”—to distinguish them, as American theorist John Archibald Wheeler quipped.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 20, 2018
Miss Dormer says “Hunger Games” fans often approach her to discuss Cressida’s unique “undercut” hairstyle, a style many acolytes of the books and films have copied on their own pates.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 19, 2015
Indelibly enigmatic, she tickles their pates but evades their clutches.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2012
“These are for you,” she says, handing Ashima a cellophane-wrapped basket full of tinned pates and jars of cornichons and chutneys that Gogol knows his parents will never open or enjoy.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The term traditionally referred to prepared meat products like sausages, ballotines and pâtés, which were preserved and then served.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2023
There are no labels on the jars of pâtés or the bottles of wine they open up.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2016
The offerings will include homemade pâtés and sausages, organ meats, bone broth and various cuts of steak, as well as roasted whole heritage hog on special occasions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2016
The first half of the book progresses through the various stages of curing meat — slow-cooked rillettes, pâtés and fresh sausages giving way to more advanced smoked and dry-cured meats and fermented dry sausages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2015
In Normandy and Brittany these ducks, as well as other sorts, greatly abound; and the "duck-liver pâtés" are there almost as popular as the pâté de foie gras of Strasburg.
From The Book of Household Management by Mrs. (Isabella Mary) Beeton
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.
