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Webster 1913 Edition

Wet

Wet

(wĕt)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Wetter
;
sup
erl.
Wettest
.]
[OE.
wet
,
weet
, AS.
wǣt
; akin to OFries.
wēt
, Icel.
vātr
, Sw.
våt
, Dan.
vaad
, and E.
water
. √137. See
Water
.]
1.
Containing, or consisting of, water or other liquid; moist; soaked with a liquid; having water or other liquid upon the surface;
as,
wet
land; a
wet
cloth; a
wet
table.
“Wet cheeks.”
Shak.
2.
Very damp; rainy;
as,
wet
weather; a
wet
season
.
“Wet October’s torrent flood.”
Milton.
3.
(Chem.)
Employing, or done by means of, water or some other liquid;
as, the
wet
extraction of copper, in distinction from
dry
extraction in which dry heat or fusion is employed
.
4.
Refreshed with liquor; drunk.
[Slang]
Prior.
Wet blanket
,
Wet dock
,
etc. See under
Blanket
,
Dock
, etc.
–
Wet goods
,
intoxicating liquors.
[Slang]
Syn. – Nasty; humid; damp; moist. See
Nasty
.

Wet

,
Noun.
[AS.
wǣta
. See
Wet
,
Adj.
]
1.
Water or wetness; moisture or humidity in considerable degree.
Have here a cloth and wipe away the
wet
.
Chaucer.
Now the sun, with more effectual beams,
Had cheered the face of earth, and dried the
wet

From drooping plant.
Milton.
2.
Rainy weather; foggy or misty weather.
3.
A dram; a drink.
[Slang]

Wet

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wet
(rarely
Wetted
);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wetting
.]
[AS.
wǣtan
.]
To fill or moisten with water or other liquid; to sprinkle; to cause to have water or other fluid adherent to the surface; to dip or soak in a liquid;
as, to
wet
a sponge; to
wet
the hands; to
wet
cloth.
“[The scene] did draw tears from me and wetted my paper.”
Burke.
Ye mists and exhalations, that now rise . . .
Whether to deck with clouds the uncolored sky,
Or
wet
the thirsty earth with falling showers.
Milton.
To wet one's whistle
,
to moisten one's throat; to drink a dram of liquor.
[Colloq.]
Let us drink the other cup
to wet our whistles
.
Walton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Wet

WET

,
Adj.
[Gr., L.]
1.
Containing water, as wet land, or a wet cloth; or having water or other liquid upon the surface, as a wet table. Wet implies more water or liquid than moist or humid.
2.
Rainy; as wet weather; a wet season.

WET

,
Noun.
1.
Water or wetness; moisture or humidity in considerable degree. Wear thick shoes or pattens to keep your feet from the wet.
2.
Rainy weather; foggy or misty weather.

WET

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. wet. But wetted is sometimes used.
1.
To fill or moisten with water or other liquid; to sprinkle or humectate; to cause to have water or other fluid adherent to the surface; to dip or soak in liquor; as, to wet a spunge; to wet the hands; to wet cloth.
Wet the thirsty earth with falling showrs.
2.
To moisten with drink.

Definition 2024

wet

wet

See also: -wet

English

Adjective

wet ‎(comparative wetter, superlative wettest)

  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.
    • Milton
      wet 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 pubescent 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 Amendment
      The 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.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Prior to this entry?)
  12. (of a burrito, sandwich, etc.) Covered in a sauce.
    • 2000, Robert Allen Palmatier, Food: a dictionary of literal and nonliteral terms, page 372
      A 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 1-10
      The new item is its first "wet," or sauce-topped, burrito.
    • 2011, J. Gabriel Gates, Charlene Keel, Dark Territory, page 13
      But I'm getting the wet burrito.” Ignacio looked down at some sort of a tomato sauce–covered tortilla tube.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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

Derived terms

See also

Translations

Noun

wet ‎(plural wets)

  1. Liquid or moisture.
    • Milton
      Now 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. (Australia) Rainy season. (often capitalized)
    • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter XI, page 186-7,
      They'll be in the camp […] before the Wet's out, mark my words.
    • 2015, David Andrew, The Complete Guide to Finding the Mammals of Australia, Csiro Publishing, Appendix B, page 380
      Northern Australia is tropical and subject to a prolonged wet season (often called simply 'the Wet') that may last from December to April […] . The Wet features high humidity, heavy rain, flooding that can cut off towns and roads for days on end, and, in most years, violent cyclones that cause high seas, widespread damage and sometimes loss of life.
  4. (Britain, pejorative) A moderate Conservative.
  5. (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.’
  6. (US, colloquial) One who supports the consumption of alcohol and thus opposes Prohibition.
    • Noah S. Sweat, Jr.
      The drys were as unhappy with the second part of the speech as the wets were with the first half.

Translations

Verb

wet ‎(third-person singular simple present wets, present participle wetting, simple past and past participle wet or wetted)

  1. (transitive) To cover or impregnate with liquid.
  2. (transitive) To accidentally urinate in or on.
    Johnny wets the bed several times a week.
  3. (intransitive) To make or become wet.
  4. (transitive, soldering) To form an intermetallic bond between a solder and a metal substrate.
  5. Misspelling of whet.

Derived terms

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛt
  • IPA(key): /ʋɛt/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch wet, wette, wit, weet, from Old Dutch witat, witut ‎(“rule, law”). Compare Low German Wet, Old High German wizzōd, Old Frisian witut, witat ‎(“host”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍄𐍉𐌸 ‎(witōþ, “law”).

Noun

wet f ‎(plural wetten, diminutive wetje n)

  1. law (rule)
  2. law (body of rules declared and/or enforced by a government)
  3. (physics) law

Derived terms

See also

Verb

wet

  1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of wetten
  2. imperative of wetten

Polish

Noun

wet

  1. genitive plural of weto

Etymology

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 *wētijaną ‎(“to wet, make wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‎(“water, wet”), also the source of water.

Cognate with Scots weit, wete ‎(“to wet”), Saterland Frisian wäitje ‎(“to wet; drench”), 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”).

Pronunciation

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