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Definition of wet adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

wet

adjective
 
/wet/
 
/wet/
(comparative wetter, superlative wettest)
Idioms
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  1. covered with or containing liquid, especially water
    • wet clothes/hair/grass
    • You'll get wet (= in the rain) if you go out now.
    • Try not to get your shoes wet.
    • His face was wet with tears.
    • We were all soaking wet (= extremely wet).
    • Her hair was still dripping wet.
    • My shirt was wet through (= completely wet).
    Synonyms wetwetmoist damp soaked drenched saturatedThese words all describe things covered with or full of liquid, especially water.wet covered with or full of liquid, especially water:
    • The car had skidded on the wet road.
    • You’ll get wet (= in the rain) if you go out now.
    moist slightly wet, often in a way that is pleasant or useful:
    • a lovely rich moist cake
    damp slightly wet, often in a way that is unpleasant:
    • The cottage was cold and damp.
    soaked (rather informal) very wet:
    • You’re soaked through! (= completely wet)
    drenched very wet:
    • We were caught in the storm and came home drenched to the skin.
    soaked or drenched?Both of these words can be used with with or in: soaked/​drenched with/​in sweat/​blood . Soaked but not usually drenched can also be used before a noun: their soaked clothestheir drenched clothes saturated very wet:
    • The ground is completely saturated: it would be pointless to plant anything.
    Patterns
    • wet/​moist/​damp/​soaked/​drenched/​saturated with something
    • soaked/​drenched in something
    • somebody’s coat/​shirt/​shoes/​clothes/​hair is/​are wet/​damp/​soaked/​drenched
    • wet/​moist/​damp/​saturated ground/​earth
    • to get wet/​moist/​damp/​soaked/​drenched/​saturated
    Extra Examples
    • Mind you don't get your feet wet.
    • The grass was wet with dew.
    • We got soaking wet just going from the car to the house.
    • We were wet through and cold.
    • The car had skidded in the wet road.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • with
    phrases
    • wet through
    See full entry
  2. (of weather, etc.) with rain
    • a spell of cold, wet weather
    • a wet climate
    • What's the best thing to do with young children on a wet day?
    • It's wet outside.
    • It's going to be wet tomorrow.
    • It was the wettest October for many years.
    • The weather will be wet and windy in the south.
    Extra Examples
    • It's still a little wet outside.
    • The weather may turn wet later on in the week.
    • permanently wet conditions
    Topics Weathera2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • look
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • with
    phrases
    • wet through
    See full entry
  3. (of paint, ink, etc.) not yet dry
    • Keep off! Wet paint.
  4. if a child or its nappy is wet, its nappy is full of urine
  5. (British English) (of a person) (informal, disapproving) not having a strong character synonym feeble, wimpish
    • ‘Don't be so wet,’ she laughed.
    More Like This Consonant-doubling adjectivesConsonant-doubling adjectives
  6. Word OriginOld English wǣt (adjective and noun), wǣtan (verb); related to water.
Idioms
all wet
  1. (North American English, informal) completely wrong
get your feet wet
  1. (especially North American English, informal) to start doing something that is new for you
    • At that time he was a young actor, just getting his feet wet.
(still) wet behind the ears
  1. (informal, disapproving) young and without much experience synonym naive
    • He was still wet behind the ears, politically.
See wet in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee wet in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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