Wet

Pronunciation

• enPR: wÄ•t, IPA: /wÉ›t/
• Rhymes: -É›t
• Homophones: whet in accents with the wine-whine merger

Origin

From Middle English wett ("wet, moistened"), past participle of Middle English weten ("to wet"), from Old English wǣtan ("to wet, moisten, water"), from Proto-Germanic *wētaną ("to water, wet"), from Proto-Indo-European *wed-, *wod- ("wet"), *wódr̥ ("water"). Cognate with Scots weit, wete ("to wet"), Icelandic væta ("to wet"). Compare also Middle English weet ("wet"), from Old English wǣt ("wet, moist, rainy"), from Proto-Germanic *wētaz ("wet, moist"), related to Scots weit, weet, wat ("wet"), North Frisian wiat, weet, wäit ("wet"), Saterland Frisian wäit ("wet"), West Frisian wiet ("wet"), Swedish våt ("wet"), Norwegian våt ("wet"), Danish våd ("wet"), Faroese vátur ("wet"), Icelandic votur ("wet"). More at water.

Full definition of wet

Adjective

1. Of an object, etc, covered with or impregnated with liquid.I went out in the rain and now my clothes are all wet.
2. Of weather or a time period, rainy.It’s going to be wet tomorrow.
• Miltonwet October's torrent flood
3. Made up of liquid or moisture.Water is wet.
4. (informal) Of a person, ineffectual.Don't be so wet.
5. (slang) Of a woman or girl, sexually aroused.He got me all wet.
6. (slang, of a person) Inexperienced in a task or profession; having the characteristics of a rookie.That guy's wet; after all, he just started yesterday.
7. (of a scientist or laboratory) Working with chemical or biological matter.
8. (chemistry) Employing, or done by means of, water or some other liquid.the wet extraction of copper, in distinction from dry extraction in which dry heat or fusion is employed
9. Permitting alcoholic beverages, as during Prohibition.
• 1995, Richard F. Hamm, Shaping the Eighteenth AmendmentThe wet states would be "the greatest beneficiaries" because the amendment would root out the liquor traffic within their cities.
10. (fountain pens and calligraphy) Depositing a large amount of ink from the nib or the feed.
• This pen's a wet writer, so it'll feather on this cheap paper.
11. (slang, archaic) Refreshed with liquor; drunk.
12. (of a burrito, sandwich, etc.) Covered in a sauce.
• 2000, Robert Allen Palmatier, Food: a dictionary of literal and nonliteral terms, page 372A chimichanga (MWCD: 1982) is a burrito that is deep-fried, rather than baked, and is served in the fashion of a wet burrito.
• 2005, Restaurant business, Volume 104, Issues 1-10The new item is its first "wet," or sauce-topped, burrito.
• 2011, J. Gabriel Gates, Charlene Keel, Dark Territory, page 13But I'm getting the wet burrito.” Ignacio looked down at some sort of a tomato sauce–covered tortilla tube.

Synonyms

• (covered with liquid) damp, saturated, soaked
• (of weather or a day) damp, raining, rainy
• (sexually aroused) horny
• (made up of liquid) wetting
• (ineffectual) feeble, hopeless, useless
• (inexperienced) green, wet behind the ears
• (burrito) chimichanga

Antonyms

• (covered with liquid) dry
• (of weather or a day) dry
• (of a scientist or lab) dry

Derived terms

Noun

1. Liquid or moisture.
• MiltonNow the sun, with more effectual beams,
  Had cheered the face of earth, and dried the wet
  From drooping plant.
2. Rainy weather.Don't go out in the wet.
3. (British, pejorative) A moderate Conservative.
4. (colloquial) An alcoholic drink.
• 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, page 60:‘A pity,’ said Jim, ‘I thought we was going to have a free wet.’

Verb

1. (transitive) To cover or impregnate with liquid.
2. (transitive) To urinate accidentally in or on.Johnny wets the bed several times a week.
3. (intransitive) To become wet
4. Misspelling of whet

Derived terms