Whet vs wet
Whet is a verb that means to sharpen, so to whet your appetite or curiosity is to make it stronger. Wet usually describes something covered or soaked with water or another liquid.
Think of a whetstone, which sharpens knives. To whet your appetite is to sharpen it.
whet verb
To make a feeling like hunger, interest, or curiosity stronger, or to sharpen a blade by rubbing it on something hard, such as a stone.
- The smell from the kitchen whetted our appetite.
- The butcher whetted his cleaver on a steel before each cut.
wet adjective
Covered or soaked with water or another liquid.
- The dog shook its wet fur all over the kitchen floor.
- Do not sit there, because the paint is still wet.
Watch out
- For most speakers, whet and wet are said the same way, so the spelling has to come from the meaning. A few speakers start whet with a breathy hw sound.
- Wet can be a verb too, meaning to make something wet. Its past form can be just wet.Wet the soil thoroughly before you plant the seeds.
- Whet can also be a noun, now rare and old-fashioned, for a small drink or bite taken before a meal to make you hungrier.Our host passed around small glasses of vermouth as a whet before dinner.
Test yourself
The first chapter will blank your curiosity about the rest of the book.
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whet. It means to make your curiosity stronger, not to add water.
My socks got blank when I stepped in a puddle.
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wet. The socks are soaked with water.
A small salad can blank the appetite before the main meal.
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whet. It makes you hungrier, as if it sharpens your appetite.
Take an umbrella, or you will get blank.
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wet. The rain would cover you with water.