Meaning & use
pates
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“pates” is a form of “pate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountableinformalhumorous
The top part of a person's head, especially when the hair is thin or gone.
Grammar: Countable and slightly informal or humorous; it usually refers to a bare or balding head, not just any head.
Patterns
- a bald pate
- a shiny pate
- someone's pate
The old farmer took off his cap and wiped his bald pate.
From behind, all I could see was his shiny pate above the newspaper.
He patted the boy's pate and laughed.
nouncountable or uncountable
A soft paste of finely chopped or blended meat, fish, or vegetables, often served as a starter.
Grammar: Uncountable when talking about the food in general, countable when meaning a portion or a particular type: 'some pate' but 'two pates'.
Patterns
- a pate of something
- chicken liver pate
- serve pate with toast
We started the meal with a smooth fish pate and warm bread.
The deli sells three pates: mushroom, salmon, and duck.
She spread the pate thinly on crackers.
Word forms
| singular | pate |
|---|
Common combinations
- a bald pate
- The vicar's bald pate shone under the church lights.
- a shiny pate
- He bent over the sink, his shiny pate reflected in the mirror.
- chicken liver pate
- They brought chicken liver pate and crusty rolls to the picnic.
- spread pate on something
- Spread the pate on thin slices of toast.
- a serving of pate
- Each guest got a small serving of pate before the main course.
Synonyms and how they differ
- head
- The general word for the whole part of the body; 'pate' is narrower and often humorous, pointing at the top of a bare head.
- spread
- A similar soft food you put on bread, but a spread is usually plainer and not necessarily made of meat or fish.
- paste
- Close in meaning for the food sense, but 'paste' is a general cooking word and does not sound like a dish on a menu.
Word family
- pate noun
- The singular form, meaning one head or one portion of the soft food.
Commonly confused: pates or pâté? pates or plate?
pates vs pâté
The food is often written with an accent in British English and in restaurants; the plain spelling 'pate' is the same word, so do not treat them as different.
pates vs plate
Only one letter apart in sound for some speakers; 'plate' is the flat dish you eat from, while 'pate' is the food or the head.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'pates' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Pates' is the plural of the noun 'pate', and in the food sense it means portions of the soft paste, so 'two pates as starters' fits. Option 2 wrongly treats it as a verb, option 3 confuses it with 'plaits' or 'combs', and option 4 makes no sense because 'pates' is not a word for people.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pates”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.