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whet

Pronunciation: /wɛt/

Translate whet | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of whet

verb (whets, whetting, whetted)

[with object]
  • 1sharpen the blade of (a tool or weapon):her husband is whetting his knife
  • 2excite or stimulate (someone’s desire, interest, or appetite):here’s an extract to whet your appetite

noun

archaic
  • a thing that stimulates appetite or desire:he swallowed his two dozen oysters as a whet

Derivatives

whetter

noun

Origin:

Old English hwettan, of Germanic origin; related to German wetzen, based on an adjective meaning 'sharp'

Do not confuse whet with wet. Whet means 'excite someone’s interest or appetite' (this recipe should whet your appetite), whereas wet means 'covered or saturated with liquid' (I slipped on the wet rock) or 'make someone or something wet' (he wet his lips, then spoke).

whet in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of whet in the US English dictionary
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