Meanings
nounpatdown (plural patdowns)
plural patdowns · alternative pat-down
- USinformalAn act of patting somebody's clothes to check for concealed weapons, etc.
To avoid such charges, airline screeners moved to random processes that led to patdowns of congressional representatives and mild-mannered elderly women...
2006, Yoram Wind, Colin Crook, Robert E. Gunther, The power of impossible thinking
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Deverbal from pat down.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French fouille corporelle, fouille à corps
- fouille corporellepatting somebody's clothes
- fouille à corpspatting somebody's clothes
- palpation de sécuritépatting somebody's clothes
Polish rewizja osobista, przeszukanie
- rewizja osobistapatting somebody's clothes
- przeszukaniepatting somebody's clothes
Spanish cacheo
- cacheopatting somebody's clothes
Cite this entry
APA
patdown. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patdown
MLA
“patdown.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patdown. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patdown,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patdown.
Source: patdown on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.