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.
Gay wrote in his Trivia, 1715:-- "The patten now supports each frugal dame That from the blue-eyed Patty takes the name."
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse
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
But the true patrin is handfuls of leaves flung down; for patrin or patten in old Roman language means the leaf of a tree.
From Romano Lavo-Lil: word book of the Romany; or, English Gypsy language by Borrow, George Henry
He let you drag through the mud and snow without so much as a patten to keep you off the ground.
From Clementina by Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
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 Gardiner, Florence Mary
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
"We could have made it, but the reality is we just wouldn't have been mentally or physically ready to play," Patten said.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
"Realistically, I'm not sure what they could have done. No-one really saw that level of escalation coming," Patten said.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
Mr. Patten Wilson is somewhat akin to Mr. Granville Fell in the energy and soundness of his conceptions.
From English Book-Illustration of To-day Appreciations of the Work of Living English Illustrators With Lists of Their Books by Sketchley, Rose Esther Dorothea
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.
