whet

UK: /ˈ^hwɛt/ US: /hwɛt, wɛt/ ,(hwet, wet)

Inflections of 'whet' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

whets

v 3rd person singular

whetting

v pres p

whetted

v past

whetted

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

whet /hwɛt, wɛt/   v. [~ + object] , whet•ted, whet•ting. 

1. to sharpen by grinding or friction.
2. to make eager;
   stimulate:
   That primary whetted her appetite for running in the general election.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

whet  (hwet, wet), v., whet•ted, whet•ting, n. 
v.t. 

1. to sharpen (a knife, tool, etc.) by grinding or friction.
2. to make keen or eager;
   stimulate:
   to whet the appetite; to whet the curiosity.

n. 
3. the act of whetting.
4. something that whets;
   appetizer or drink.
5. Dialect Terms [Chiefly Southern U.S.]
   • a spell of work.
   • a while:
     to talk a whet.
• bef. 900; Middle English whetten (verb, verbal), Old English hwettan (derivative of hwæt bold); cognate with German wetzen, Old Norse hvetja, Gothic gahwatjan to incite
whet′ter, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

whet / wɛt/ verb (whets, whetting, whetted)(transitive)

1. to sharpen, as by grinding or friction
2. to increase or enhance (the appetite, desire, etc); stimulate

noun

1. the act of whetting
2. a person or thing that whets

Etymology: Old English hwettan; related to hvæt sharp, Old High German hwezzen, Old Norse hvetja, Gothic hvatjan

ˈwhetter noun