wet

[ wet ]
See synonyms for: wetwettedwetterwettest on Thesaurus.com
adjective,wet·ter, wet·test.

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

  2. in a liquid form or state: wet paint.

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

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

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

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

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

  6. Informal.

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

noun

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

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

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

  2. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. wetback.

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

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

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

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

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

  2. (of animals and children) to urinate.

Idioms about wet

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

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

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

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

Origin of wet

1
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

synonym study For wet

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.

Other words for wet

1 dampened, drenched
4 misty, drizzling
7 humid
10 dampness, dankness, humidity, wetness
11 drizzle
See synonyms for wet on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for wet

Other words from wet

  • wetly, adverb
  • wetness, noun
  • wetter, noun
  • wettish, adjective
  • non·wet·ted, adjective
  • re·wet, verb re·wet or re·wet·ted, re·wet·ting.
  • un·wet, adjective
  • un·wet·ted, adjective

Words that may be confused with wet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wet

wet

/ (wɛt) /

adjectivewetter or wettest

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

  2. not yet dry or solid: wet varnish

  1. rainy, foggy, misty, or humid: wet weather

  2. employing a liquid, usually water: a wet method of chemical analysis

  3. mainly US and Canadian characterized by or permitting the free sale of alcoholic beverages: a wet state

  4. British informal feeble or foolish

  5. wet behind the ears informal immature or inexperienced; naive

noun

  1. wetness or moisture

  2. damp or rainy weather

  1. British informal a Conservative politician who is considered not to be a hard-liner: Compare dry (def. 21)

  2. British informal a feeble or foolish person

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

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

verbwets, wetting, wet or wetted

  1. to make or become wet

  2. to urinate on (something)

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

  2. wet one's whistle informal to take an alcoholic drink

Origin of wet

1
Old English wǣt; related to Old Frisian wēt, Old Norse vātr, Old Slavonic vedro bucket

Derived forms of wet

  • wetly, adverb
  • wetness, noun
  • wettability, noun
  • wettable, adjective
  • wetter, noun
  • wettish, adjective

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

Other 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)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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