“Wet” or “Whet”—Which to use?

“Wet” or “Whet”

Overview

wet / whet are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

wet: (verb) cause to become wet. (verb) make one's bed or clothes wet by urinating. (adjective) covered or soaked with a liquid such as water. (adjective) containing moisture or volatile components. (adjective) supporting or permitting the legal production and sale of alcoholic beverages. (adjective) producing or secreting milk. (adjective) consisting of or trading in alcoholic liquor.

whet: (verb) make keen or more acute. (verb) sharpen by rubbing, as on a whetstone.

Pronunciation

wet: w·EH·t

whet: w·EH·t

Trends

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Examples in Context

Examples of “wet”

…three woods are of the wet ash (Fraxinus excelsior) / maple…
…spring season when it is wet.
…her husband using the collodion wet plate process As she notes,…
…leaf tissues should not be wet for more than 12 hours…
…Mann began photographing landscapes on wet plate collodion 8x10 inch glass…
…(Bridgeport, Scottsboro, and Stevenson) are "wet", allowing alcohol sales.
…both conventional 8x10 film and wet plate collodion.
…and 25 degrees Celsius) and wet environments, and can only thrive…
…used once after they blot wet surfaces.
…their climate was cool and wet.

Examples of “whet”

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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