wet

[wet]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wet ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, wet·ter, wet·test.

moistened, covered, or soaked with water or some other liquid: wet hands.

in a liquid form or state: wet paint.

characterized by the presence or use of water or other liquid.

moistened or dampened with rain; rainy: Wet streets make driving hazardous.

allowing or favoring the sale of alcoholic beverages: a wet town.

characterized by frequent rain, mist, etc.: the wet season.

laden with a comparatively high percent of moisture or vapor, especially water vapor: There was a wet breeze from the west.

Informal.

intoxicated.
marked by drinking: a wet night.

using water or done under or in water, as certain chemical, mining, and manufacturing processes.

noun

something that is or makes wet, as water or other liquid; moisture: The wet from the earth had made the basement unlivable.

damp weather; rain: Stay out of the wet as much as possible.

a person in favor of allowing the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. wetback.

verb (used with object), wet or wet·ted, wet·ting.

to make (something) wet, as by moistening or soaking (sometimes followed by through or down): Wet your hands before soaping them.

to urinate on or in: The dog had wet the carpet.

verb (used without object), wet or wet·ted, wet·ting.

to become wet (sometimes followed by through or down): Dampness may cause plastered walls to wet. My jacket has wet through.

(of animals and children) to urinate.

Idioms

all wet, Informal. completely mistaken; in error: He insisted that our assumptions were all wet.

wet behind the ears, immature; naive; green: She was too wet behind the ears to bear such responsibilities.

wet one's whistle. whistle(def 15).

wet out, to treat (fabric) with a wetting agent to increase its absorbency.

Origin of wet

before 900; Middle English wett, past participle of weten, Old English wǣtan to wet; replacing Middle English weet, Old English wǣt, cognate with Old Frisian wēt, Old Norse vātr; akin to water

Related formswet·ly, adverbwet·ness, nounwet·ter, nounwet·tish, adjectivenon·wet·ted, adjectivere·wet, verb re·wet or re·wet·ted, re·wet·ting.un·wet, adjectiveun·wet·ted, adjective

Can be confusedwet whet

Synonyms for wet

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wet ON THESAURUS.COM

1. dampened, drenched. 4. misty, drizzling. 7. humid. 10. wetness, humidity, dampness, dankness. 11. drizzle. 14. Wet, drench, saturate, soak imply moistening something. To wet is to moisten in any manner with water or other liquid: to wet or dampen a cloth. Drench suggests wetting completely as by a downpour: A heavy rain drenched the fields. Saturate implies wetting to the limit of absorption: to saturate a sponge. To soak is to keep in a liquid for a time: to soak beans before baking.

Antonyms for wet

1. dry.

De Wet

[duh wet]

noun

Chris·ti·an Ru·dolph

[kris-chuh n roo-dolf, -dawlf; Dutch kris-tee-ahn ry-dolf] /ˈkrɪs tʃən ˈru dɒlf, -dɔlf; Dutch ˈkrɪs tiˌɑn ˈrü dɒlf/, 1854–1922, Boer general and politician.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wet

muggy, misty, rainy, soggy, stormy, snowy, soaked, slippery, foggy, dank, sodden, humid, drench, bathe, moisten, hose, dampen, soak, dip, damp

Examples from the Web for wet

Contemporary Examples of wet

If those dry counties get wet, those border stores could find their revenue drying up.
Will Arkansas’ Prohibition Finally End?
Jack Holmes
November 1, 2014
A September poll found 79 percent of likely voters “believe that counties should decide for themselves whether to be wet or dry.”
Will Arkansas’ Prohibition Finally End?
Jack Holmes
November 1, 2014
Hassan's eyes are red and wet, but you can't tell if it's tears or just sweat.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
Think the Frogtown settlers rinsed their tonsils with something that was “too wet to plow and too thick to drink”?
Toledo: The Town Too Tough for Toxic Water
P. J. O’Rourke
August 4, 2014
William slipped into a wet suit and got into the outdoor pool, snorkelling with a group of eight-year-olds.
William Tells Dad, "You're Buff, Pa!"
Tom Sykes
July 9, 2014

Historical Examples of wet

Slept in snow-drift that night in wet clothes, mercury 40 below.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
While beer brings gladness, don't forget That water only makes you wet!
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He turned her face up to his own again, and softly kissed her wet eyes.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Because the weather was cold and wet, the ceremonies were conducted indoors.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Do, some kind Christian, pump a stroke or two, just to wet my whistle.
A Rill from the Town Pump (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for wet

wet

adjective wetter or wettest

moistened, covered, saturated, etc, with water or some other liquid

not yet dry or solidwet varnish

rainy, foggy, misty, or humidwet weather

employing a liquid, usually watera wet method of chemical analysis

mainly US and Canadian characterized by or permitting the free sale of alcoholic beveragesa wet state

British informal feeble or foolish

wet behind the ears informal immature or inexperienced; naive

noun

wetness or moisture

damp or rainy weather

British informal a Conservative politician who is considered not to be a hard-linerCompare dry (def. 21)

British informal a feeble or foolish person

mainly US and Canadian a person who advocates free sale of alcoholic beverages

the wet Australian (in northern and central Australia) the rainy season

verb wets, wetting, wet or wetted

to make or become wet

to urinate on (something)

(tr) dialect to prepare (tea) by boiling or infusing

wet one's whistle informal to take an alcoholic drink

Derived Formswetly, adverbwetness, nounwettability, nounwettable, adjectivewetter, nounwettish, adjective

Word Origin for wet

Old English wǣt; related to Old Frisian wēt, Old Norse vātr, Old Slavonic vedro bucket

de Wet

noun

Christian Rudolf. 1854–1922, Afrikaner military commander and politician, who led the Orange Free State army in the second Boer War (1899–1902). He was imprisoned for treason (1914) after organizing an Afrikaner nationalist rebellion

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wet

adj.

Old English wæt "moist, liquid," from Proto-Germanic *wætaz (cf. Old Frisian wet ). Also from the Old Norse form, vatr. All related to water (n.1).

Wet blanket "person who has a dispiriting effect" is recorded from 1879, from use of blankets drenched in water to smother fires (the phrase is attested in this literal sense from 1660s). All wet "in the wrong" is recorded from 1923, American English; earlier simply wet "ineffectual," and perhaps ultimately from slang meaning "drunken" (c.1700). Wet-nurse is from 1610s. Wet dream is from 1851; in the same sense Middle English had ludificacioun "an erotic dream."

He knew som tyme a man of religion, þat gaff hym gretelie vnto chastitie bothe of his harte & of his body noghtwithstondyng he was tempid with grete ludificacions on þe nyght. ["Alphabet of Tales," c.1450]

Old English wætan "to be wet;" see wet (adj.). Related: Wetted; wetting.

Idioms and Phrases with wet

wet

In addition to the idioms beginning with wet

wet behind the ears
wet blanket
wet one's whistle

also see:

all wet
get one's feet wet
like (wet as) a drowned rat
mad as a hornet (wet hen)