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wet
8 dictionary results for: wet
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
wet       [wet] Pronunciation Key adjective, wet·ter, wet·test, noun, verb, wet or wet·ted, wet·ting.
–adjective
1.moistened, covered, or soaked with water or some other liquid: wet hands.
2.in a liquid form or state: wet paint.
3.characterized by the presence or use of water or other liquid.
4.moistened or dampened with rain; rainy: Wet streets make driving hazardous.
5.allowing or favoring the sale of alcoholic beverages: a wet town.
6.characterized by frequent rain, mist, etc.: the wet season.
7.laden with a comparatively high percent of moisture or vapor, esp. water vapor: There was a wet breeze from the west.
8.Informal.
a.intoxicated.
b.marked by drinking: a wet night.
9.using water or done under or in water, as certain chemical, mining, and manufacturing processes.
–noun
10.something that is or makes wet, as water or other liquid; moisture: The wet from the earth had made the basement unlivable.
11.damp weather; rain: Stay out of the wet as much as possible.
12.a person in favor of allowing the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.
13.Informal: Disparaging and Offensive. a wetback.
–verb (used with object)
14.to make (something) wet, as by moistening or soaking (sometimes fol. by through or down): Wet your hands before soaping them.
15.to urinate on or in: The dog had wet the carpet.
–verb (used without object)
16.to become wet (sometimes fol. by through or down): Dampness may cause plastered walls to wet. My jacket has wet through.
17.(of animals and children) to urinate.
—Idioms
18.all wet, Informal. completely mistaken; in error: He insisted that our assumptions were all wet.
19.wet behind the ears, immature; naive; green: She was too wet behind the ears to bear such responsibilities.
20.wet one's whistle. whistle (def. 16).
21.wet out, to treat (fabric) with a wetting agent to increase its absorbency.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME wett, ptp. of weten, OE wǣtan to wet; r. ME weet, OE wǣt, c. OFris wét, ON vātr; akin to water]

—Related forms
wetly, adverb
wetness, noun
wetter, noun
wettish, adjective

—Synonyms 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 1. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wet       (wět)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   wet·ter, wet·test
  1. Covered or soaked with a liquid, such as water.
  2. Not yet dry or firm: wet paint.
  3. Stored or preserved in liquid.
  4. Used or prepared with water or other liquids.
    1. Rainy, humid, or foggy: wet weather.
    2. Characterized by frequent or heavy precipitation: a wet climate.
  6. Informal Allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages: a wet county.
  7. Characterized by the use or presence of water or liquid reagents: wet chemistry.

n.  
  1. Something that wets; moisture.
  2. Rainy or snowy weather: go out into the wet.
  3. Informal One who supports the legality of the production and sale of alcoholic beverages.

v.   wet or wet·ted, wet·ting, wets

v.   tr.
  1. To make wet; dampen: wet a sponge.
  2. To make (a bed or one's clothes) wet by urinating.

v.   intr.
  1. To become wet.
  2. To urinate.


[Middle English, from Old English wǣt; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: These adjectives mean covered with or saturated with liquid. Wet describes not only what is covered or soaked (a wet sponge) but also what is not yet dry (wet paint). Damp and moist both mean slightly wet, but damp often implies an unpleasant clamminess: a cold, damp cellar; a moist breeze.
Dank emphasizes disagreeable, often unhealthful wetness: a dank cave.
Humid refers to an unpleasantly high degree of moisture in the atmosphere: hot, humid weather.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wet  (adj.)
O.E. wæt "moist, liquid," from P.Gmc. *wætaz (cf. O.Fris. wet ). Also from the O.N. form, vatr. All related to water. The verb is O.E. wætan "to be wet." 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 1662). All wet "in the wrong" is recorded from 1923, Amer.Eng.; earlier simply wet "ineffectual," and perhaps ult. from slang meaning "drunken" (c.1700). Wet-nurse is from 1620; wet dream is from 1851; wetback "illegal Mexican immigrant to the U.S." is attested from c.1924, from notion of wading the Rio Grande.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
wet

adjective
1. covered or soaked with a liquid such as water; "a wet bathing suit"; "wet sidewalks"; "wet weather" [ant: dry] 
2. containing moisture or volatile components; "wet paint" [ant: dry] 
3. supporting or permitting the legal production and sale of alcoholic beverages; "a wet candidate running on a wet platform"; "a wet county" [ant: dry] 
4. producing or secreting milk; "a wet nurse"; "a wet cow"; "lactating cows" [ant: dry] 
5. consisting of or trading in alcoholic liquor; "a wet cargo"; "a wet canteen" 
6. very drunk [syn: besotted] 

noun
1. wetness caused by water; "drops of wet gleamed on the window" [syn: moisture] 

verb
1. cause to become wet; "Wet your face" [ant: dry] 
2. make one's bed or clothes wet by urinating; "This eight year old boy still wets his bed" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

wet

In addition to the idioms beginning with wet, also see all wet; get one's feet wet; like (wet as) a drowned rat; mad as a hornet (wet hen).


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Wet

Wet\ (w[e^]t), a. [Compar. Wetter; superl. Wettest.] [OE. wet, weet, AS. w[=ae]t; akin to OFries. w[=e]t, Icel. v[=a]tr, Sw. v[*a]t, Dan. vaad, and E. water. [root]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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Wet

Wet\, n. [AS. w[=ae]ta. See Wet, a.]

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]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Wet

Wet\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wet (rarely Wetted); p. pr. & vb. n. Wetting.] [AS. w[=ae]tan.] 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's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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