wet

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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 *wētanan (“to water, wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed-, *wod- (“wet”), *wódr̥ (“water”). Cognate with Scots weit, wete (“to wet”), 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”). More at water.

Pronunciation [edit]

Adjective [edit]

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 day, rainy.
    It’s going to be wet tomorrow.
  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 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 his laboratory) Working with chemical or biological matter.
  8. 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.
  9. (of a burrito) 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.
    I hate wet burritos covered in salsa but love them drenched with crema!

Synonyms [edit]

Antonyms [edit]

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

Derived terms [edit]

Terms derived from wet (adjective)

Translations [edit]

of an object: covered with or impregnated with liquid
of weather: rainy (See rainy)
made of liquid or moisture
of a person: ineffectual
of a woman: sexually aroused
of a scientist or lab: working with chemical or biological matter
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun [edit]

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. (UK, pejorative) A moderate Conservative.
  4. (colloquial) An alcoholic drink.
    • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 60:
      ‘A pity,’ said Jim, ‘I thought we was going to have a free wet.’

Translations [edit]

pejorative: moderate Conservative

Verb [edit]

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 urinate accidentally in or on.
    Johnny wets the bed several times a week.
  3. (intransitive) To become wet

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

cover or impregnate with liquid
urinate accidentally in or on
become wet
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Dutch [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

wet f (plural wetten, diminutive wetje)

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

Derived terms [edit]

See also [edit]

Verb [edit]

wet

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