adj.
(wetter, wettest)
- covered or saturated with liquid.
▸(of the weather) rainy.
▸involving the use of water or liquid.
- (of paint, ink, etc.) not yet having dried or hardened.
- Brit. informal lacking forcefulness or strength of character; feeble.
- informal (of an area) allowing the free sale of alcoholic drink.
v.
(wets, wetting; past and past part. wet or wetted)
cover or touch with liquid.
▸(especially of a baby or young child) urinate in or on.
▸
(wet oneself)
urinate involuntarily.
▸dialect infuse (tea) by pouring on boiling water.
n.
- liquid that makes something damp.
▸
(the wet)
rainy weather.
▸Brit. informal a drink.
- Brit. informal a feeble person.
- Brit. a Conservative politician (especially in the 1980s) with liberal tendencies.
- US a person opposed to the prohibition of alcohol.
Phrase
- all wet
N. Amer. completely wrong. - wet the baby's head
Brit. informal celebrate a baby's birth with a drink. - wet behind the ears
informal lacking experience; immature. - wet one's whistle
informal have a drink.
Derivative
- wetly adv.
- wetness n.
- wettable adj.
- wettish adj.
Etymology
OE wæt (adj. and n.), wætan (v.); rel. to water.
