wet
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
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3 characters
Language
English
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "wet", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "wet" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "wet" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
wet is anEnglishadj. It means: Made up of liquid or moisture, usually (but not always) water. Pronounced /wɛt/. It ranks #2,813 in English word frequency. Often confused with wi and Wu.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adj |
| IPA | /wɛt/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #2,813 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wet is 3 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wɛt/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,813 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for wet in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wi", "Wu", "wo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wet (“wet, moistened”), wett, wette, past participle of Middle English weten (“to wet”), from Old English wǣtan (“to wet, moisten, water”), from Proto-West Germanic *wātijan, from Proto-Germanic *wētijaną (“to wet, make wet”), from Proto… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is wet, spelled W-E-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1Made up of liquid or moisture, usually (but not always) water.
- 2Of an object, etc.: covered or impregnated with liquid, usually (but not always) water.
- 3Of a burrito, sandwich, or other food: covered in a sauce.
- 4Of calligraphy and fountain pens: depositing a large amount of ink from the nib or the feed.
- 5Of a sound recording: having had audio effects applied.
- 6Of weather or a time period: rainy.
- 7Using afterburners or water injection for increased engine thrust.
- 8Of a person: inexperienced in a profession or task; having the characteristics of a rookie.
- 9Sexually aroused and thus having the vulva moistened with vaginal secretions.
- 10Ineffectual, feeble, showing no strength of character.
- 11Permitting alcoholic beverages.
- 12Refreshed with liquor; drunk.
- 13Of a scientist or laboratory: working with biological or chemical matter.
- 14Employing, or done by means of, water or some other liquid.
- 15Involving assassination or "wet work".
- 16Of a board or flop: enabling the creation of many or of strong hands; e.g. containing connectors or suited cards. (Compare dry).
- 17Of a Quaker: liberal with respect to religious observance.
- 18With a usual complement or consummation; potent.
Etymology
From Middle English wet (“wet, moistened”), wett, wette, past participle of Middle English weten (“to wet”), from Old English wǣtan (“to wet, moisten, water”), from Proto-West Germanic *wātijan, from Proto-Germanic *wētijaną (“to wet, make wet”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water, wet”) (also the source of water). Cognate with Scots weit, wete (“to wet”), Saterland Frisian wäitje (“to wet; drench”), Icelandic væta (“to wet”). Compare also Middle English weet (“wet”), from Old English wǣt (“wet, moist, rainy”), from Proto-West Germanic *wāt, from Proto-Germanic *wētaz (“wet, moist”), related to Scots weit, weet, wat (“wet”), North Frisian wiat, weet, wäit (“wet”), Saterland Frisian wäit (“wet”), West Frisian wiet (“wet”), Middle Dutch wet (“wet, damp, watery”), Swedish and Norwegian våt (“wet”), Danish våd (“wet”), Faroese vátur (“wet”), Icelandic votur (“wet”).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #2,813 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter W in our English index: