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.
a separate sole attached to a shoe or boot for this purpose.
Building Trades. any stand or support, especially one of a number resting on unbroken ground as a substitute for a foundation.
1350–1400; Middle English paten < Middle French patin wooden shoe, perhaps derivative of pate paw
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On Christmas Eve she put her little wooden patten on the hearth before the fire, and went to sleep to dream of Saint Nicholas.
From Good Stories for Holidays by Olcott, Frances Jenkins
My feet are all right anyway with my new patten leather shoes on, but I shall have to look out for my head.
From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Park, Robert Ezra
Ambulant Treatment.—When the patient is able to use crutches, the affected limb is prevented from touching the ground by fixing a patten on the sole of the boot on the sound side.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
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 Dickens, Charles
Saturday.—Grandfather took us down street to be measured for some new patten leather shoes at Mr. Ambler’s.
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 Richards, Caroline Cowles
Five British players - Neal Skupski, Henry Patten, Julian Cash, Lloyd Glasspool and Joe Salisbury - are ranked inside the world's top 15, and all have won Grand Slam titles over the past six seasons.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 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
Meanwhile, Great Britain's Henry Patten and Finnish partner Harri Helioevaara were beaten 6-4 6-2 in the final of the men's doubles by Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
Having finally secured a flight back to London via Cairo and Rome, Patten then had to brace himself for take-off.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
By the middle of April he was having a try at first and two weeks later he had succeeded to the position vice Patten removed to the outfield.
From The Crimson Sweater by Barbour, Ralph Henry
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.
