wet
Americanadjective
-
moistened, covered, or soaked with water or some other liquid.
wet hands.
- Antonyms:
- dry
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- misty
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- humid
-
Informal.
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- humidity
-
damp weather; rain.
Stay out of the wet as much as possible.
- Synonyms:
- drizzle
-
a person in favor of allowing the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.
-
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. wetback.
verb (used with object)
-
to make (something) wet, as by moistening or soaking (sometimes followed by through ordown ).
Wet your hands before soaping them.
-
to urinate on or in.
The dog had wet the carpet.
verb (used without object)
-
to become wet (sometimes followed by through ordown ).
Dampness may cause plastered walls to wet. My jacket has wet through.
-
(of animals and children) to urinate.
idioms
adjective
-
moistened, covered, saturated, etc, with water or some other liquid
-
not yet dry or solid
wet varnish
-
rainy, foggy, misty, or humid
wet weather
-
employing a liquid, usually water
a wet method of chemical analysis
-
characterized by or permitting the free sale of alcoholic beverages
a wet state
-
informal feeble or foolish
-
informal immature or inexperienced; naive
noun
-
wetness or moisture
-
damp or rainy weather
-
informal a Conservative politician who is considered not to be a hard-liner Compare dry
-
informal a feeble or foolish person
-
a person who advocates free sale of alcoholic beverages
-
(in northern and central Australia) the rainy season
verb
-
to make or become wet
-
to urinate on (something)
-
dialect (tr) to prepare (tea) by boiling or infusing
-
informal to take an alcoholic drink
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wet
First recorded 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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
WET WEATHER: Clemson fans should brace for another wet outing.
From Washington Times • Oct. 9, 2015
This is just the sort of multimedia/au courant material you can imagine WET tackling, which they do here under the direction of lead producer, Ali el-Gasseir.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2014
WET WINNER: Oxford University coxswain Oskar Zorrilla was tossed into the River Thames in London Sunday by his rowing teammates after the team won the 159th Oxford vs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2013
I also like to take people we’re considering for a key position on a tour of WET.
From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2011
Perilously positioned on the thin wooden headboard of the bed, a bottle of STA- WET gel.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
