whet — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To sharpen (something, such as a knife or sword) by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone; to hone.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   steelstrop

   Examples

   Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

   And the Mower whets his ſithe,

   More examples (1)

   Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.

2. Of an animal such as a boar: to sharpen (its horns, teeth, tusks, etc.) by rubbing on a stone, etc., in preparation for an attack.

   Usage

   • Transitive

3. To make more keen or to stimulate (someone's appetite, interest, etc.); to hone, to sharpen.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   rouse

   Examples

   to whet one's appetite or one's courage

   Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, / I have not slept.

   More examples (3)

   My faith in vegetarianism grew on me from day to day. Salt's book whetted my appetite for dietetic studies. I went in for all books available on vegetarianism and read them.

   In the end, porn doesn’t whet men’s appetites—it turns them off the real thing.

   Oh, so now you wanna blow up a police station? [...] Nursing home full of old folks just whet your appetite — now you wanna kill a bunch of cops.

4. To encourage (someone) to do something; to incite, to urge.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Obsolete
   • Transitive

5. To inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Obsolete
   • Transitive

6. Of a bird: to preen (its feathers).

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Obsolete
   • Rare
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   primpsmarten up

7. To make more keen; to stimulate.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Intransitive

8. To prepare for an attack.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Intransitive

9. To consume drink or food as an appetizer.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Intransitive
   • Obsolete

Noun

1. An act of sharpening something by rubbing on an object, especially a whetstone.

2. An occasion to do something; a go, a turn.

   Usage

   • broadly
   • dialectal

3. A period of time between two sharpenings of a scythe.

   Usage

   • broadly
   • dialectal

4. An item of drink or food consumed as an appetizer or to ward off hunger until a meal; specifically, a small amount of liquor drunk as an appetizer; a dram, a nip.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   sips, drams, and whets

   To make a nice Whet before Dinner […]

5. A thing which makes one's desire, interest, etc., more keen; an incitement, an inducement.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   A really good game, to my mind, must have an element, however slight, of physical danger to the player. This is the great whet to skilled performance.

Verb

1. make keen or more acute

   Synonyms

   quicken

   Broader terms

   stimulateexcitestir

   Examples

   whet my appetite

2. sharpen by rubbing, as on a whetstone

   Broader terms

   sharpen