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moistened, covered, or soaked with water or some other liquid:
wet hands.
in a liquid form or state:
wet paint.
characterized by the presence or use of water or other liquid.
moistened or dampened with rain; rainy:
Wet streets make driving hazardous.
allowing or favoring the sale of alcoholic beverages:
a wet town.
characterized by frequent rain, mist, etc.:
the wet season.
laden with a comparatively high percent of moisture or vapor, especially water vapor:
There was a wet breeze from the west.
Informal.

.
marked by drinking:
a wet night.

using water or done under or in water, as certain chemical, mining, and manufacturing processes.
something that is or makes wet, as water or other liquid; moisture:
The wet from the earth had made the basement unlivable.
damp weather; rain:
Stay out of the wet as much as possible.
a person in favor of allowing the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. .
to make (something) wet, as by moistening or soaking (sometimes followed by through or down):
Wet your hands before soaping them.
to urinate on or in:
The dog had wet the carpet.
to become wet (sometimes followed by through or down):
Dampness may cause plastered walls to wet. My jacket has wet through.
(of animals and children) to urinate.
all wet, Informal. completely mistaken; in error:
He insisted that our assumptions were all wet.
wet behind the ears, immature; naive; green:
She was too wet behind the ears to bear such responsibilities.
wet one’s whistle. (def 16).
wet out, to treat (fabric) with a wetting agent to increase its absorbency.
adjective wetter, wettest
moistened, covered, saturated, etc, with water or some other liquid
not yet dry or solid: wet varnish
rainy, foggy, misty, or humid: wet weather
employing a liquid, usually water: a wet method of chemical analysis
(mainly US & Canadian) characterized by or permitting the free sale of alcoholic beverages: a wet state
(Brit, informal) feeble or foolish
(informal) wet behind the ears, immature or inexperienced; naive
noun
wetness or moisture
damp or rainy weather
(Brit, informal) a Conservative politician who is considered not to be a hard-liner Compare dry (sense 21)
(Brit, informal) a feeble or foolish person
(mainly US & Canadian) a person who advocates free sale of alcoholic beverages
(Austral) the wet, (in northern and central Australia) the rainy season
verb wets, wetting, wet, wetted
to make or become wet
to urinate on (something)
(transitive) (dialect) to prepare (tea) by boiling or infusing
(informal) wet one’s whistle, to take an alcoholic drink
adj.

Old English wæt “moist, liquid,” from Proto-Germanic *wætaz (cf. Old Frisian wet ). Also from the Old Norse form, vatr. All related to water (n.1).

Wet blanket “person who has a dispiriting effect” is recorded from 1879, from use of blankets drenched in water to smother fires (the phrase is attested in this literal sense from 1660s). All wet “in the wrong” is recorded from 1923, American English; earlier simply wet “ineffectual,” and perhaps ultimately from slang meaning “drunken” (c.1700). Wet-nurse is from 1610s. Wet dream is from 1851; in the same sense Middle English had ludificacioun “an erotic dream.”

He knew som tyme a man of religion, þat gaff hym gretelie vnto chastitie bothe of his harte & of his body noghtwithstondyng he was tempid with grete ludificacions on þe nyght. [“Alphabet of Tales,” c.1450]

v.

Old English wætan “to be wet;” see wet (adj.). Related: Wetted; wetting.

adjective phrase

Incorrect; wrong: Your idea is all wet, I’m afraid (1920s+)

Related Terms

mae west
Western European Time
Completely wrong, mistaken, as in If you think you can beat the system and win at roulette, you’re all wet. The original allusion in this expression is unclear, that is, how moisture or dampness is related to wrongness. [ ; first half of 1900s ]

wet behind the ears
wet blanket
wet one’s whistle

also see:

all wet
get one’s feet wet
like (wet as) a drowned rat
mad as a hornet (wet hen)