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Whet vs Vet - What's the difference?

whet | vet |

As verbs the difference between whet and vet

is that whet is to hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone while vet is to thoroughly check or investigate particularly with regard to providing formal approval.

As nouns the difference between whet and vet

is that whet is the act of whetting something while vet is a veterinarian or veterinary surgeon.

whet

English

Verb

(whett)
  • To hone or rub on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening – see whetstone.
  • * Milton
    • The mower whets his scythe.
  • * Byron
    • Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak.
  • To stimulate or make more keen.
    • to whet one's appetite or one's courage
  • * Shakespeare
    • Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar, / I have not slept.
  • * 2003-10-20 , Naomi Wolf, The Porn Myth] , [http://nymag.com/ New York Magazine
    • In the end, porn doesn’t whet men’s appetites—it turns them off the real thing.

    Derived terms

    * whetstone

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of whetting something.
  • That which whets or sharpens; especially, an appetizer.
  • * Spectator
  • * sips, drams, and whets

    • Anagrams

    *

    vet

    English

    Etymology 1

    .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (colloquial) A veterinarian or veterinary surgeon.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=December 14 , author=Steven Morris , title=Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave , work=Guardian citation , page= , passage=Colin Cameron, a vet who examined the dead animal, said there was "no doubt the kitten would have suffered unnecessarily" before dying.}}

    Etymology 2

    .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (colloquial, US) A veteran (a former soldier or other member of an armed forces).
    • Usage notes
    Although veteran'' can be used in many contexts such as sports or business to describe someone with many years of experience, ''vet is usually used only for former military personnel.

    Etymology 3

    possibly by analogy from Etymology 1, in the sense of "verifying the soundness [of an animal]"

    Verb

    (vett)
  • To thoroughly check or investigate particularly with regard to providing formal approval.
    • The FBI vets all nominees to the Federal bench.
    References
    OED2
    Synonyms
    * evaluate
    Derived terms
    * vetter

    Anagrams

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