Whet Definition

wĕt, hwĕt
whets, whetted, whetting
verb
whets, whetted, whetting
To sharpen by rubbing or grinding (the edge of a knife or tool); hone.
Webster's New World
To make keen; stimulate.
To whet the appetite.
Webster's New World

To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening - see whetstone.

Wiktionary
Antonyms:
noun
whets
An act of whetting.
Webster's New World
Something that whets (the appetite, etc.)
Webster's New World

That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.

Wiktionary

Origin of Whet

  • From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan (“to whet, sharpen, incite, encourage"), from Proto-Germanic *hwatjanÄ… (“to incite, sharpen"), from Proto-Indo-European *kÊ·Ä“d- (“sharp"). Cognate with Dutch wetten (“to whet, sharpen"), German wetzen (“to whet, sharpen"), Danish dialectal hvæde (“to whet").

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English whetten from Old English hwettan

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to whet using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

whet