wet
♦ wet /w'et/ (wetter wettest wets wetting wetted)
The forms wet and wetted are both used as the past tense and past participle of the verb.
1 [ADJ]
If something is wet, it is covered in water, rain, sweat, tears, or another liquid.
He towelled his wet hair...
I lowered myself to the water's edge, getting my feet wet...
My gloves were soaking wet...
I saw his face was wet with tears.
≠ dry
● wetly [ADV] usu ADV after v
Her hair clung wetly to her head.
● wetness [N-UNCOUNT]
Anti-perspirants stop wetness, deodorants stop odour.
≠ dryness
2 [VERB] V n, V n
To wet something means to get water or some other liquid over it.
When assembling the pie, wet the edges where the two crusts join...
Fielding nervously wet his lips and tried to smile.
3 [ADJ]
If the weather is wet, it is raining.
If the weather is wet or cold choose an indoor activity...
It was a miserable wet day.
= rainy
≠ dry
[N-SING] the N
The wet is used to mean wet weather.
They had come in from the cold and the wet...
4 [ADJ]
If something such as paint, ink, or cement is wet, it is not yet dry or solid.
I lay the painting flat to stop the wet paint running...
≠ dry
5 [VERB] V n, V pron-refl
If people, especially children, wet their beds or clothes or wet themselves, they urinate in their beds or in their clothes because they cannot stop themselves.
A quarter of 4-year-olds frequently wet the bed...
To put it plainly, they wet themselves.
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that someone is still wet behind the ears, you mean that they have only recently arrived in a new place or job, and are therefore still not experienced.wet blan|ket (wet blankets)
[N-COUNT]
If you say that someone is a wet blanket, you are criticizing them because they refuse to join other people in an enjoyable activity or because they want to stop other people enjoying themselves. (INFORMAL)
= spoilsportwet dream (wet dreams)
1 [N-COUNT]
If a man has a wet dream, he has a dream about sex which causes him to have an orgasm while he is asleep.
2 [N-COUNT] usu poss N
If someone says that a person or thing is a particular person's wet dream, they are saying in an unkind and mocking way that this person or thing would give that person a lot of pleasure. (INFORMAL, RUDE)wet nurse (wet nurses)
also wet-nurse
[N-COUNT]
In former times, a wet nurse was a woman who was paid to breast-feed another woman's baby.wet suit (wet suits)
also wetsuit
[N-COUNT]
A wet suit is a close-fitting rubber suit which an underwater swimmer wears in order to keep their body warm.
The forms wet and wetted are both used as the past tense and past participle of the verb.
1 [ADJ]
If something is wet, it is covered in water, rain, sweat, tears, or another liquid.
He towelled his wet hair...
I lowered myself to the water's edge, getting my feet wet...
My gloves were soaking wet...
I saw his face was wet with tears.
≠ dry
● wetly [ADV] usu ADV after v
Her hair clung wetly to her head.
● wetness [N-UNCOUNT]
Anti-perspirants stop wetness, deodorants stop odour.
≠ dryness
2 [VERB] V n, V n
To wet something means to get water or some other liquid over it.
When assembling the pie, wet the edges where the two crusts join...
Fielding nervously wet his lips and tried to smile.
3 [ADJ]
If the weather is wet, it is raining.
If the weather is wet or cold choose an indoor activity...
It was a miserable wet day.
= rainy
≠ dry
[N-SING] the N
The wet is used to mean wet weather.
They had come in from the cold and the wet...
4 [ADJ]
If something such as paint, ink, or cement is wet, it is not yet dry or solid.
I lay the painting flat to stop the wet paint running...
≠ dry
5 [VERB] V n, V pron-refl
If people, especially children, wet their beds or clothes or wet themselves, they urinate in their beds or in their clothes because they cannot stop themselves.
A quarter of 4-year-olds frequently wet the bed...
To put it plainly, they wet themselves.
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that someone is still wet behind the ears, you mean that they have only recently arrived in a new place or job, and are therefore still not experienced.wet blan|ket (wet blankets)
[N-COUNT]
If you say that someone is a wet blanket, you are criticizing them because they refuse to join other people in an enjoyable activity or because they want to stop other people enjoying themselves. (INFORMAL)
= spoilsportwet dream (wet dreams)
1 [N-COUNT]
If a man has a wet dream, he has a dream about sex which causes him to have an orgasm while he is asleep.
2 [N-COUNT] usu poss N
If someone says that a person or thing is a particular person's wet dream, they are saying in an unkind and mocking way that this person or thing would give that person a lot of pleasure. (INFORMAL, RUDE)wet nurse (wet nurses)
also wet-nurse
[N-COUNT]
In former times, a wet nurse was a woman who was paid to breast-feed another woman's baby.wet suit (wet suits)
also wetsuit
[N-COUNT]
A wet suit is a close-fitting rubber suit which an underwater swimmer wears in order to keep their body warm.