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pat

2
[ pat ]
/ pæt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR pat ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

exactly to the point or purpose; apt; opportune: a pat solution to a problem.
excessively glib; unconvincingly facile: His answers were too pat to suit the examining board.
learned, known, or mastered perfectly or exactly: to have something pat.

adverb

exactly or perfectly.
aptly; opportunely.

Words related to pat

resist

Words nearby pat

pasturage, pasture, pasture rose, pasty, pasty-faced, pat, pat on the back, pat-a-cake, pat-down, pat., pat. off.

Idioms for pat

    down pat, mastered or learned perfectly: If you're an actor, you have to get your lines down pat.Also down cold.
    stand pat,
    1. to cling or hold firm to one's decision, policy, or beliefs: The government must stand pat in its policy.
    2. Poker. to play a hand as dealt, without drawing other cards.

Origin of pat

2
1570–80; orig. adverbial use of pat1, as obsolete to hit pat to strike accurately

OTHER WORDS FROM pat

pat·ness, nounpat·ter, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (1 of 5)

stand pat

verb (intr)

poker to refuse the right to change any of one's cards; keep one's hand unchanged
to resist change or remain unchanged

Derived forms of stand pat

standpatter, noun

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (2 of 5)

pat1
/ (pæt) /

verb pats, patting or patted

noun

Word Origin for pat

C14: perhaps imitative

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (3 of 5)

pat2
/ (pæt) /

adverb

Also: off pat exactly or fluently memorized or masteredhe recited it pat
opportunely or aptly
stand pat
  1. mainly US and Canadian to refuse to abandon a belief, decision, etc
  2. (in poker, etc) to play without adding new cards to the hand dealt

adjective

exactly right for the occasion; apta pat reply
too exactly fitting; gliba pat answer to a difficult problem
exactly righta pat hand in poker

Word Origin for pat

C17: perhaps adverbial use (``with a light stroke'') of pat 1

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (4 of 5)

pat3
/ (pæt) /

noun

on one's pat Australian informal alone; on one's own

Word Origin for pat

C20: rhyming slang, from Pat Malone

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (5 of 5)

Pat
/ (pæt) /

noun

an informal name for an Irishman

Word Origin for Pat

from Patrick
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with stand pat (1 of 2)

stand pat

Refuse to change one's position or opinion, as in We're going to stand pat on this amendment to the bylaws. This expression may be derived from the verb pat in the sense of “strike firmly and accurately.” [Late 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with stand pat (2 of 2)

pat
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.