pat

verb4

1. •
   to let a flat hand come down lightly on someone or something, once or a few times

   • To show affection, he decided he would pat the boy on the head.
2. •
   To hit lightly and repeatedly with the flat of the hand to make smooth or flat

   • I patted the cookie dough into shape.
3. •
   (UK, Australia) To stroke or fondle (an animal). Compare pet.

   • Do you want to pat the cat?
4. •
   To gently rain.

adverb3

1. •
   Perfectly.

   • He has the routine down pat.
2. •
   Straight, right, exactly, precisely.

   • His nose sitteth flat on the face of him as it were a dab of clay, and I can see pat up his nostrils a summer day’s journey into his head. — 1922
3. •
   Opportunely, in a timely or suitable way.

   • Now might I do it pat — 1599

noun5

1. •
   A light tap or slap, especially with the hands.

   • Give Mary a pat on the shoulder to get her attention.
2. •
   A flattish lump of soft matter, especially butter or dung.

   • It looked like a tessellated work of pats of butter. — 1842
3. •
   The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.

   • We heard a pat on the door.
4. •
   Clipping of patent.
5. •
   Clipping of pattern.

   • Work in pat to next underarm marker, sm, place next st on holder[…] — 2012

adjective3

1. •
   Exactly suitable, fitting, apt; timely, convenient, opportune, ready for the occasion; especially of things spoken.

   • Your scruples and arguments bring to my mind a story so pat, you may think it is coin’d, on purpose to answer you, out of my mint; but, I can assure you, I saw it in print. — 1788
2. •
   Trite, being superficially complete, lacking originality.

   • While most AIDS activists and researchers I spoke with agreed I shouldn't offer pat safe/unsafe categories, let me share some pretty widely accepted information. — 1987
3. •
   (slang) Upper-class, nobby.

noun9

1. •
   Initialism of personal access token.
2. •
   (UK, Australia) Initialism of portable appliance testing.
3. •
   Initialism of port address translation.
4. •
   Initialism of point after touchdown (“extra point”).
5. •
   Initialism of provincial achievement test.
6. •
   Initialism of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.
7. •
   Initialism of protocol associated type.

   • Protocols are abstract as they are, but with PATs, you’re making your protocols generic, which makes your code even more abstract and exponentially complex. — 2019
8. •
   (US) Initialism of priority air traffic.
9. •
   Abbreviation of Pointe-aux-Trembles: a municipality of Quebec, Canada.

noun1

1. •
   (slang, offensive) An Irish person.

   • I'll do it, sir, by the honor of the Pats, just take your two good looking selves into the garden, […] — 1868