pâté

1 of 3

noun (1)

pâ·​té pä-ˈtā 

pa-

variants or less commonly pate

1

: a spread of finely chopped or pureed seasoned meat

chicken liver pâté

2

: a meat or fish pie or patty

pate

2 of 3

noun (2)

ˈpāt 

1

: head

A hat covered his bald pate.

2

: the crown of the head

combed his hair across his pate

3

usually disparaging : brain

pated

ˈpā-təd 

adjective

pâte

3 of 3

noun (3)

ˈpät 

: paste sense 2b

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• head
• skull
• noddle
• dome
• noodle
• bean
• noggin

Examples of pâté in a Sentence

Noun (2)

plopped a cap on his bald pate

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The pate is made with fish meat harvested to reduce leftover waste from caviar farming, according to the company’s website. —Camila Pedrosa july 6, Sacbee.com, 6 July 2025

Nashville haunt, with its sliced pork, pate and bologna. —Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

The restaurant is far from an afterthought of the distillery experience, offering a menu of mostly small plates, including pate en croute, beef tartare, trout dip with saltines, frog legs, and gnocchi with mushroom ragu. —Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025

Or the witches from The Witches with their terrifying claws and bald pates. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French, from Middle French pasté — more at pasty

Noun (2)

Middle English

Noun (3)

French, literally, paste, from Old French paste

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1706, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

1863, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pâté

• pâté de foie gras

Kids Definition

pate

noun

ˈpāt 

: head entry 1 sense 1

especially : the top of the head

pated

ˈpāt-əd 

adjective