whetting

verb

present participle of whet
as in sharpening
to make sharp or sharper whetted the knife with the grindstone

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whetting The set-closer peaked with Campbell and Tench trading solos in an extended jam, only further whetting the crowd’s collective appetite for more and closing the case for a tour. — Adam Gold, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026 The announcement lands at the close of Marché du Film, where Japan was this year’s country of honor, and caps a busy session for Frontières Platform, which in recent years has been a key player in whetting the growing appetite for genre film at both the Cannes’ festival and market. — Jennie Punter, Variety, 22 May 2026 After six weeks whetting blades in the factory on a grinding belt, Brigitte received a silver motorbike. — Simon Akam, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whetting
  1. sharpening
  2. grinding
Verb
  • Israeli and American leaders have been sharpening their threats before elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have remained defiant.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The holiday capsule arrives at a time when Net-a-porter has been sharpening its focus on product, service and storytelling under chief executive officer Heather Kaminetsky.
    — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of sharpening
Verb
  • For decades, junior accountants learned their trade by reconciling accounts, manually entering data, and grinding through the month-end close.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • This innovation—the mass manufacture of ammonia, vastly more efficient than scraping guano off remote islands or grinding mountains of bison bones—removed the most critical nutrient bottleneck in global agriculture.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of grinding

Browse Nearby Words

whetted
whetting
whey-faced
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Cite this Entry

“Whetting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whetting. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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