pats down

verb

present tense third-person singular of pat down
as in shakes down

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pats down
  1. shakes down
  2. runs down
  3. rifles
  4. finds out
  5. searches
  6. audits
  7. dredges
  8. finds
Verb
  • The commission shakes down property owners by, say, requiring them to remove structures or give up development rights.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 1 May 2026
  • Later, Tom pours vodka into a Phillies cup and watches birds flutter by at night while Robbie gets his guns ready and shakes down a trap house.
    — Grace Byron, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of shakes down
Verb
  • Blood runs down Zack’s chin before his parents swear to tell the truth.
    — JP Mangalindan, Time, 31 July 2026
  • Neighbors say when storms hit, water runs down the parking lot on one side, off the road on another, and down a slope in the back.
    — Dan Snyder, CBS News, 29 July 2026
Definition of runs down
Verb
  • With four minutes until penalties, Spain venture forward, Cesc Fabregas slips in Iniesta, who rifles it home to win the World Cup.
    — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • Before Poeltl can complete the double-team, Towns looks to the 3-point line then rifles a right-handed pass over his own head to Bridges for the easy two under the rim.
    — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2026
Definition of rifles
Verb
  • Some family members even left the courtroom as Marcelle is heard asking about her children and finds out her son was killed.
    — Tara Lynch, CBS News, 24 June 2026
  • And also God help him if anyone on the island finds out that Evan is the last [descendant].
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 June 2026
Definition of finds out
Verb
  • Sill credited the outcome to the community, the volunteers and the dog’s own persistence, and told the outlet that searches like this one frequently end differently.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026
  • After defeating the shark, Sara searches for another way out of the cave.
    — Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 29 July 2026
Definition of searches
Verb
  • As these legal complaints shake out, and UC Davis audits its own processes, former members of UC Davis’ championship-winning equestrian team are figuring out how to move forward.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
  • In Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, workers report intimidation, surveillance and firing threats to suppress organizing—all tactics that audits routinely miss.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of audits
Verb
  • To keep the body of water a lake and an effective flood-control tool, Great Parks periodically dredges to remove excess sediment at the bottom of the lake.
    — Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of dredges
Verb
  • The show finds ways to expose the worst in its characters, their pettiest, most vengeful, greediest parts.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Also screening is Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, another feature from Cannes, following a successful company director called Gleb, who finds himself under siege from mounting corporate pressures and an increasingly unstable world.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of finds
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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pats
pats down
patsies
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Cite this Entry

“Pats down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pats%20down. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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