whet

verb · nounA1

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Động từ

verb
V_es/s
whets
V_ing/Gerund
whetting
V_ed/pp
whettedwhet
  1. 1.

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

    Đồng nghĩa: steel, strop

  2. 2.

    (transitive)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.

  3. 3.

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

    to whet one's appetite or one's courage

    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.

    Đồng nghĩa: rouse, animate, awaken, electrify, enflame, enkindle, enthrill, exagitate, excite, exhilarate, exsuscitate, fillip, fire, fire the blood, galvanize, gin up, ignite, inflame, intoxicate, kindle, quicken, rouse, send, set fire to, set on fire, sharpen, stir the blood, suscitate, thrill, vitalise, wake, warm the blood, whet, wind up, work up, yerk

  4. 4.

    (figuratively, obsolete, transitive)To encourage (someone) to do something; to incite, to urge.

  5. 5.

    (figuratively, obsolete, transitive)To inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

    Đồng nghĩa: abet, actuate, goose, light a fire under, send, sting, bring about, cheer, draw, drive, encourage, egg on, engender, evoke, excite, foment, goad, grill, ignite, impel, incite, induce, inflame, instigate, invoke, lash, motive, motivate, move, obligate, oblige, push, promote, prompt, provoke, rouse, set off, spark off, spur, spur on, stimulate, stir, stir up, stoke, tempt, urge, whet, whip up

  6. 6.

    (figuratively, obsolete, rare, transitive)Of a bird: to preen (its feathers).

    Đồng nghĩa: primp, smarten up

  7. 7.

    (figuratively, intransitive)To make more keen; to stimulate.

  8. 8.

    (figuratively, intransitive)To prepare for an attack.

  9. 9.

    (figuratively, intransitive, obsolete)To consume drink or food as an appetizer.

Danh từ

noun
Plural noun:
whets
  1. 1.

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

  2. 2.

    (broadly, dialectal)An occasion to do something; a go, a turn.

  3. 3.

    (broadly, dialectal)A period of time between two sharpenings of a scythe.

  4. 4.

    (figuratively)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.

  5. 5.

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

Từ liên quan

Đồng nghĩa

steelstroprouseanimateawakenelectrifyenflameenkindleenthrillexagitateexciteexhilarateexsuscitatefillipfirefire the bloodgalvanizegin upigniteinflame

Cùng gốc / liên quan

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Nguồn gốc từ

ine-pro The verb is derived from Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan (to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to encourage, incite), from *hwattjan (to sharpen, whet), from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną (to sharpen, whet; (figurative) to incite, instigate), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d- (sharp).

Nguồn dữ liệu: freedict, dictionary, wiktionary · cập nhật 16/8/2026

Định nghĩa và phiên âm từ Wiktionary / dictionaryapi.dev (CC BY-SA).