Wet

/wɛt/ adj, noun, phrase, verb, slang

adj, noun, phrase, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Liquid or moisture.
  • Grammar: wet is listed as adj, noun, phrase, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: apish, applies liquid, apply liquid, apply liquid to soil.
  • Useful contrasts: beautiful, dry, anhydrous.
  • Usage evidence: He's got a face like a month of wet Sundays.

How to use "wet"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wet" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "wet" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "wet" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wet" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "wet" is acting as adj, noun, phrase, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "apish" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "wet", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Liquid or moisture. countable, uncountable

    "Now the sun, with more effectual beams, / Had cheered the face of earth, and dried the wet / From drooping plant."

  2. 2
    wetness caused by water wordnet
  3. 3
    Rainy weather. countable, uncountable

    "Don't go out in the wet."

  4. 4
    Rainy season. (often capitalized) Australia, countable, uncountable

    "They'll be in the camp […] before the Wet's out, mark my words."

  5. 5
    A moderate Conservative; especially, one who opposed the hard-line policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. British, UK, countable, derogatory, uncountable
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    An alcoholic drink. colloquial, countable, uncountable

    "‘A pity,’ said Jim, ‘I thought we was going to have a free wet.’"

  2. 7
    One who supports the consumption of alcohol and thus opposes Prohibition. US, colloquial, countable, uncountable

    "The drys were as unhappy with the second part of the speech as the wets were with the first half."

  3. 8
    A tyre for use in wet weather. countable, in-plural, uncountable

    "Wets, designed to channel water away from underneath the tyres, maximise grip and minimise the chance of aquaplaning."

  4. 9
    A weak or sentimental person; a wimp or softie. colloquial, countable, derogatory, uncountable

    "Above all, he [Nigel Molesworth] is his own man, resolutely committed to a view of life that divides his fellow pupils into 'sissies', 'wets', 'swots' and 'old lags'."

  5. 10
    Alternative form of wat (“stew or curry eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea”). alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To cover or impregnate with liquid. transitive

    "There is scanty room for a railway, and in many places the rails are wetted by the spray from the Illecillewaet, which is the Indian word for a raging torrent."

  2. 2
    make one's bed or clothes wet by urinating wordnet
  3. 3
    To make or become wet. intransitive, transitive

    "I try to show emotion, but my eyes won't seem to wet"

  4. 4
    cause to become wet wordnet
  5. 5
    To make (oneself, clothing, a bed, etc.) wet by accidental urination. transitive

    "Johnny wets the bed several times a week."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    To form an intermetallic bond between a solder and a metal substrate. transitive
  2. 7
    To celebrate by drinking alcohol. informal, transitive

    "to wet the baby’s head"

  3. 8
    To kill or seriously injure. Multicultural-London-English, US, slang

    "I'm coming to get ya, I'm coming to get ya / Spitting out lyrics, homie, I'll wet ya"

  4. 9
    Misspelling of whet. alt-of, misspelling
Adjective
  1. 1
    Made up of liquid or moisture, usually (but not always) water.

    "Water is wet."

  2. 2
    Of code, having the quality of adhering to the principle of WET; containing much repetition.
  3. 3
    Of an object, etc.: covered or impregnated with liquid, usually (but not always) water.

    "I went out in the rain and now my clothes are all wet."

  4. 4
    Of a burrito, sandwich, or other food: covered in a sauce.

    "A chimichanga (MWCD: 1982) is a burrito that is deep-fried, rather than baked, and is served in the fashion of a wet burrito."

  5. 5
    Of calligraphy and fountain pens: 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."

Show 14 more definitions
  1. 6
    Of a sound recording: having had audio effects applied.
  2. 7
    Of weather or a time period: rainy.

    "It’s going to be wet tomorrow."

  3. 8
    Using afterburners or water injection for increased engine thrust.

    "This fighter jet's engine is rated for a maximum wet thrust of 450 kilonewtons, more than twice its max dry thrust, but the afterburner eats up a huge amount of fuel."

  4. 9
    Of a person: inexperienced in a profession or task; having the characteristics of a rookie. slang

    "That guy’s wet; after all, he just started yesterday."

  5. 10
    Sexually aroused and thus having the vulva moistened with vaginal secretions. slang, vulgar

    "He got me all wet."

  6. 11
    Ineffectual, feeble, showing no strength of character. British, slang

    ""Wet! What currency that bit of slang has—and what awful power. It took me a long time to find out what the word meant, but after long research I think that I know. A man is wet if he isn't a 'regular guy'; he is wet if he isn't 'smooth'; he is wet if he has intellectual interests and lets the mob discover them; and, strangely enough, he is wet by the same token if he is utterly stupid. He is wet if he doesn't show at least a tendency to dissipate, but he isn't wet if he dissipates to excess. A man will be branded as wet for any of these reasons, and once he is so branded, he might as well leave college … ""

  7. 12
    Permitting alcoholic beverages. retronym

    "The wet states would be "the greatest beneficiaries" because the amendment would root out the liquor traffic within their cities."

  8. 13
    Refreshed with liquor; drunk. archaic, slang

    "c. 1694, Matthew Prior, “Celia to Damon” […] When my lost Lover the tall Ship ascends, / With Musick gay, and wet with Iovial Friends […]"

  9. 14
    Of a scientist or laboratory: working with biological or chemical matter.
  10. 15
    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"

  11. 16
    Involving assassination or "wet work". euphemistic, slang

    "a wet affair; a wet job; wet stuff"

  12. 17
    Of a board or flop: enabling the creation of many or of strong hands; e.g. containing connectors or suited cards. (Compare dry). slang
  13. 18
    Of a Quaker: liberal with respect to religious observance. colloquial, dated, obsolete

    "1811. John Adams, Letter to the Boston Patriot, §25. Reprinted in 1856. Charles Francis Adams (ed.), The Life of John Adams, Second President of The United States. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, p. 661. The Catholics thought him almost a Catholic. The Church of England claimed him as one of them. The Presbyterians thought him half a Presbyterian, and the Friends believed him a wet Quaker. The dissenting clergymen in England and America were among the most distinguished asserters and propagators of his renown. Indeed, all sects considered him, and I believe justly, a friend to unlimited toleration in matters of religion."

  14. 19
    With a usual complement or consummation; potent.
Adjective
  1. 1
    very drunk wordnet
  2. 2
    consisting of or trading in alcoholic liquor wordnet
  3. 3
    covered or soaked with a liquid such as water wordnet
  4. 4
    producing or secreting milk wordnet
  5. 5
    supporting or permitting the legal production and sale of alcoholic beverages wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    containing moisture or volatile components wordnet
Phrase
  1. 1
    Acronym of write everything twice, a humorous backronym coined to serve as the antonym of DRY, punning on the opposition of wet and dry. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of

Synonyms

All synonyms
apishapplies liquidapply liquidapply liquid to soilaquatic studyasinine

Antonyms

beautifuldryanhydrousanhydrous mineral

Example

"He's got a face like a month of wet Sundays."

Common questions

What does "wet" mean?

Liquid or moisture.

What is a synonym for "wet"?

Common synonyms include: apish, applies liquid, apply liquid, apply liquid to soil, aquatic study, asinine.

How do you use "wet" in a sentence?

He's got a face like a month of wet Sundays.

How do you pronounce "wet"?

Pronounced /wɛt/.

Etymology

From Middle English wet (“wet, moistened”), wett, wette, past participle of Middle English weten (“to wet”), from Old English wǣtan (“to wet, moisten, water”), from Proto-West Germanic *wātijan, 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-West Germanic *wāt, 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”), Middle Dutch wet (“wet, damp, watery”), Swedish and Norwegian våt (“wet”), Danish våd (“wet”), Faroese vátur (“wet”), Icelandic votur (“wet”).

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Synonyms

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