pats

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present of pat.

   The coach pats each runner on the back at the finish line.

   She pats the dough into a neat round before sliding it into the oven.

   Note

   It takes a single present-tense subject, he, she or it: the coach pats, the rain pats. Two constructions recur: pat someone on the back, the body part after on, and pat something flat or into a shape. In Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa she pats the dog means she strokes it, the use that pet covers elsewhere; two pats on the arm are the plural noun.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of pat.

   We heard the quick pats of bare feet running down the hall.

   The baker set out small pats of butter beside each basket of rolls.

   Note

   Most of the plural is homely: the soft pats of footsteps, pats on the back, pats of butter and cow pats in a field. Two clippings hide here too, short for patents and for patterns, so in a workshop or an office the word may have nothing to do with touch. Applied to Irish people it is slang that may give offense and is best left alone.

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