patty
1 Americannoun
plural
patties-
any item of food covered with dough, batter, etc., and fried or baked.
oyster patties.
-
a thin, round piece of ground or minced food, as of meat or the like.
a hamburger patty.
-
a thin, round piece, as of candy.
peppermint patties.
-
a little pie; pasty.
noun
noun
-
a small flattened cake of minced food
-
a small pie
Etymology
Origin of patty
First recorded in 1700–10; alteration of pâté, conformed to English words with the suffix -y 2
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.
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
After I slapped my beef patty onto the grill, Paquette handed me a steel burger smasher.
From Slate • Aug. 11, 2025
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
Appointed Muslim Sisters quickly passed small trays from which everyone took a thin, round patty of peppermint candy.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
![]()
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.