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• patty
  patty

  noun

  any item of food covered with dough, batter, etc., and fried or baked.
• Patty
  Patty

  noun

  a female given name, form of Patience or Patricia.

patty

¹ American  

[pat-ee] / ˈpæt i /

noun

patties plural

1. any item of food covered with dough, batter, etc., and fried or baked.

   oyster patties.

2. a thin, round piece of ground or minced food, as of meat or the like.

   a hamburger patty.

3. a thin, round piece, as of candy.

   peppermint patties.

4. a little pie; pasty.

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Patty ² American  

[pat-ee] / ˈpæt i /

noun

1. a female given name, form of Patience or Patricia.

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patty British  

/ ˈpætɪ /

noun

1. a small flattened cake of minced food

2. a small pie

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• patties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of patty

First recorded in 1700–10; alteration of pâté, conformed to English words with the suffix -y ²

Example Sentences

Toward the book’s end they fantasize about a world in which your local Waffle House serves “mycelium-based steak and Impossible burgers for the patty melts,” with red meat unavailable at most restaurants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

So there’s generally good profit in adding extra beef, since the only add-on cost to the restaurant is the patty itself, and that can be passed on to the consumer.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

For chef David Chang, that moment is a diner patty melt — and the cheese that makes it sing is, without question, American.

From Salon • Jul. 6, 2025

On our road trip we stopped at a Wendy’s in Mississippi and I realized the Light Phone III is quite close in shape and size to a Dave’s Single patty.

From Slate • Apr. 17, 2025

When Grandma’s back was turned, Mary Alice broke open a biscuit and stuck a sausage patty inside it.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck