# whet

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈwɛt/ · frequency rank #46,265

## Definitions
1. To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
2. To stimulate or make more keen.
3. To preen.

## Etymology
From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan (“to whet, sharpen, incite, encourage”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan, from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną (“to incite, sharpen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”).
Cognate with Dutch wetten (“to whet, sharpen”), German wetzen (“to whet, sharpen”), Icelandic hvetja (“to whet, encourage, catalyze”), dialectal Danish hvæde (“to whet”).

## Easily confused with
- **wt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wt)
- **who** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-who)
- **why** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-why)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wwe)
- **wit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wit)
- **woe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-woe)
- **wot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wot)
- **wut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wut)
- **Wie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wie)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wye)
- **whom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-whom)
- **wont** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wont)
- **whip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-whip)
- **whoa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-whoa)
- **woes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-woes)
- **writ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-writ)
- **whim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-whim)
- **whew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-whew)
- **wilt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-wilt)
- **whit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whet-vs-whit)

## Common misspellings (6)
`hwet`, `weht`, `whett`, `whhet`, `whte`, `wwhet`

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