WHET • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Whet

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/wɛt/ /hwɛt/ Listen

verb

Whet v. t. (past & past part. whetted; pres. part. whetting)

To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. "The mower whets his scythe." "Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak."

To make sharp, keen, or eager; to excite; to stimulate; as, to whet the appetite or the courage. "Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, I have not slept."

To whet on, To whet forward, to urge on or forward; to instigate.

noun

Whet n.

The act of whetting.

That which whets or sharpens; esp., an appetizer. "Sips, drams, and whets."

Whet slate (Min.), a variety of slate used for sharpening cutting instruments; novaculite; called also whetstone slate, and oilstone.

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Etymology of 'Whet'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Whet" Quotes from Famous Books

... at last: the crowd of fishermen and loungers drew near to meet their friends who had come up from Glasgow—for there are few strangers, as a rule, arriving at Stornoway to whet the curiosity of the islanders—and the tall gillie who had been standing by Mackenzie's horses came on board to get the luggage ...

— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 24, March, 1873 • Various

... let your answers be enough to whet his curiosity but not enough to satisfy it; above all, when you find him talking at random and overwhelming you with silly questions instead of asking for information, at once refuse to answer; for it is clear that ...

— Emile • Jean-Jacques Rousseau

... whose independence rests, in large measure, on confidence in America's word and in America's protection. To yield to force in Vietnam would weaken that confidence, would undermine the independence of many lands, and would whet the appetite of aggression. We would have to fight in one land, and then we would have to fight in another—or abandon much of Asia ...

— State of the Union Addresses of Lyndon B. Johnson • Lyndon B. Johnson

... pre-eminent, knowing how to oppose arguments by precedents, proofs by assertions, and thus they very often obtain victory in minor matters of detail. They see and know with admirable penetration, when one of them presents to another a weapon which she herself is forbidden to whet. It is thus that they sometimes lose a husband without intending it. They apply the match and long afterwards are terror-stricken ...

— The Physiology of Marriage, Part III. • Honore de Balzac

... of how Ole induced his father to buy a new violin for him, and, unable to restrain his desire to play it, he got up in the night, opened the case, and touched the strings. This furtive touch merely served to whet his appetite, and he tried the bow. Then he began to play very softly; then, carried away with enthusiasm, he played louder and louder, until suddenly he felt the sharp sting of his father's whip across his ...

— Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday • Henry C. Lahee

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