whet

Meanings

Plural: whets

Verb

make keen or more acute
- "whet my appetite"
sharpen by rubbing, as on a whetstone
To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
To stimulate or make more keen.
To preen.

Noun

The act of whetting something.
That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan (“to whet, sharpen, incite, encourage”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan, from Proto-Germanic *hwatjaną (“to incite, sharpen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁d- (“sharp”).
Cognate with Dutch wetten (“to whet, sharpen”), German wetzen (“to whet, sharpen”), Icelandic hvetja (“to whet, encourage, catalyze”), dialectal Danish hvæde (“to whet”).

Synonyms

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

Scrabble Score: 10

whet is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
whet is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
whet is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

whet is a valid Words With Friends word