definitions

pat

2
[ pat ]
/ pæt /
|
SEE MORE 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.

RELATED CONTENT

What Does QWERTY Stand For?Most of us take our keyboards for granted. If we’re touch typists, we automatically position our fingers above the same eight keys and our muscle memory takes over. We just type! (What are those eight keys called? And what do they have to do with a popular Google search? Read about that here.) But our keyboards have an interesting history. Most English language keyboards have …
READ MORE
What Does “FICO” Stand For?When was the last time you ordered a credit report? The paper document is abstruse enough, but you have to maneuver through the morass of oddly-named companies that produce them — Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and more. The process is abstract, but the results are concrete. There’s some new, and bad, news about those infamous numbers. More than a quarter of Americans now have scores of 599 or lower. …
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

resist

Nearby words

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

Idioms

    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
Related formspat·ness, nounpat·ter, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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 Formsstandpatter, noun

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (2 of 5)

pat

1
/ (pæt) /

verb pats, patting or patted

noun

Word Origin for pat

C14: perhaps imitative

British Dictionary definitions for stand pat (3 of 5)

pat

2
/ (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)

pat

3
/ (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

In addition to the idiom beginning with pat

  • pat on the back

also see:

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