Whet definitions

wĕt, hwĕt
To whet is to create or stimulate an interest or appetite for something or to sharpen the edge of a knife.

An example of whet is when you take a tiny taste of delicious food and want more.

An example of whet is when you rub a knife edge against a sharpening stone.

verb
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To sharpen (a knife, for example); hone.
verb
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To make more keen; stimulate.

The frying bacon whetted my appetite.

verb
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Something that whets the appetite or desire.
noun
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To sharpen by rubbing or grinding (the edge of a knife or tool); hone.
verb
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To make keen; stimulate.

To whet the appetite.

verb
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An act of whetting.
noun
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Something that whets (the appetite, etc.)
noun
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To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening - see whetstone.
verb
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To stimulate or make more keen.

To whet one's appetite or one's courage.

verb
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The act of whetting something.
noun
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That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.
noun
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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").