# whats vs whet

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### whats
*noun · frequency rank #8,625*
plural of what; used as a stand-in to collectively pluralize arbitrary instances of things. Often used along with whys, hows, etc.

### whet
*verb · IPA /ˈwɛt/ · frequency rank #46,265*
To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whats-vs-whet