What does "wet" mean?
Wet: Very damp; rainy; as, wet weather; a wet season. "Wet October's torrent flood." Milton.
Additional senses
- 2.(Chem.) Employing, or done by means of, water or some other liquid; as, the wet extraction of copper, in distinction from dry extraction in which dry heat or fusion is employed.
- 3.Refreshed with liquor; drunk. [Slang] Prior. Wet blanket, Wet dock, etc. See under Blanket, Dock, etc. -- Wet goods, intoxicating liquors. [Slang] See Nasty.
- 4.Water or wetness; moisture or humidity in considerable degree. Have here a cloth and wipe away the wet. Chaucer. Now the sun, with more effectual beams, Had cheered the face of earth, and dried the wet From drooping plant. Milton.
- 5.Rainy weather; foggy or misty weather.
- 6.A dram; a drink. [Slang]
- 7.To fill or moisten with water or other liquid; to sprinkle; to cause to have water or other fluid adherent to the surface; to dip or soak in a liquid; as, to wet a sponge; to wet the hands; to wet cloth. "[The scene] did draw tears from me and wetted my paper." Burke. Ye mists and exhalations, that now rise . . . Whether to deck with clouds the uncolored sky, Or wet the thirsty earth with falling showers. Milton. To wet one's whistle, to moisten one's throat; to drink a dram of liquor. [Colloq.] Let us drink the other cup to wet our whistles. Walton.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00