Definition of VETS

A Brief History of the Verb Vet

Verb

When we vet a statement for accuracy or vet a candidate for a position, what are we doing, literally? Does the verb have something to do with veteran "a person with long experience," perhaps indicating that the thing or person vetted is proved to be tried and true?

Interestingly, the word is not related to veteran at all, but rather to veterinarian "an animal doctor." That noun was shortened to vet by the mid-19th century and, within decades, gave rise to a verb vet meaning "to subject (an animal) to medical examination." The verb was soon applied to human beings as well, broadening in sense to "to perform a medical checkup on." By the early 20th century, this word took on the figurative meaning that is now most familiar: "to subject a person or thing to scrutiny; to examine for flaws."

Examples of vet in a Sentence

Noun

I have to take my dog to the vet.

Verb

They vetted her thoroughly before offering her the job. The book was vetted by several different editors. He's already vetted the plan, so we can start right away.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Dogs require attention, visits to the vet, and walks. — Marlo Safi, National Review, "The American Art of Obsessing over Your Pets," 24 Aug. 2019 But Larkin also is an Army vet, severely injured in 2011 while serving in Kandahar province in Afghanistan. — Richard A. Marini, ExpressNews.com, "Historic Tobin Hill home renovation paired wheelchair accessibility with preservation," 6 Aug. 2019 These two might be my favorite young duo outside of Philadelphia even though Buddy Heild is old enough to already be a seven-year vet in the NBA. — Khadrice Rollins, SI.com, "The Best Possible 2019 ‘NBA Jam’ Duos, Ranked," 18 July 2019 My Dad was a WWI combat vet and a riverboat captain and master pilot. — Letter Writers, Twin Cities, "Letters: Proper gun instruction means safety for kids and from intruders," 12 June 2019 Today was a beautiful day so my husband (who's a vet), our 2 year old dog, and myself, decided to Google a lake to visit and have a picnic. — Breanna Edwards, Essence, "White Woman Arrested For Pulling Gun On Black Couple Trying To Have A Picnic," 5 June 2019 Caitlin Kinnunen, who's been nominated for a Tony for her turn as Emma, is a Broadway vet at just 27 years old after landing a role in Spring Awakening 11 years ago. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "Broadway's Joyful Musical ‘The Prom’ Is Necessary Right Now," 4 June 2019 More from Cincy: a possible second round matchup between Sloane Stephens and Svetlana Kuznetsova is intriguing, considering that the Russian vet beat Stephens in an hour. — The Si Staff, SI.com, "2019 U.S Open Preview Roundtable: SI Experts Make Predictions," 23 Aug. 2019 This time around, though, things are going much better for the 32-year-old Bachelor franchise vet. — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, "Bachelor in Paradise episode 6 preview: Did Katie just blow it with Chris?," 20 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

As Brown’s general counsel, Isaak has been in charge of vetting applicants for all open judge’s positions, including help select five current justices on the Oregon Supreme Court. — oregonlive, "Kate Brown taps her top lawyer for seat on Oregon Court of Appeals," 30 Aug. 2019 But the risks, plus the cost and complexity of vetting potential clients and complying with those federal guidelines, have kept most banks on the sidelines. — Dan Adams, BostonGlobe.com, "Mass. banks, credit unions expand services for marijuana companies," 26 July 2019 Instead of allowing each plan to work its way through a time-consuming process in court, the state wants to spend two weeks coming up with an alternate method of vetting the different proposals that officials think will be more expedient. — J.d. Morris, SFChronicle.com, "PG&E bankruptcy judge grants Newsom’s request for time extension," 24 July 2019 And their jobs—specifically in the area of vetting information sourced from conflict zones—are about to get even more challenging. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "Limited coverage of civilian deaths means Americans can’t comprehend the true cost of war," 16 July 2019 The children are housed by HHS until their sponsors - family members living in the United States - are vetted and approved. — Brian Chasnoff, ExpressNews.com, "A San Antonio nonprofit and a local caterer are hired for new migrant children’s shelter," 5 July 2019 In prepared remarks for an annual address to bankers in London’s financial district, Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney also said Facebook’s Libra project should be carefully vetted by regulators. — Kristin Broughton, WSJ, "Anti-Money-Laundering Watchdog Calls for Stronger Cryptocurrency Regulations," 21 June 2019 Researchers strongly disagree with that portrayal, however, and say fetal tissue research projects are meticulously vetted. — NBC News, "What is fetal tissue research? And why is it important to medicine?," 9 June 2019 What kind of strains did that put on the local government in terms of vetting the deal and figuring out its potential impact and on the basic civic processes of how to go about approving it? — Josh Dzieza, The Verge, "An interview with Reply All’s Sruthi Pinnamaneni," 6 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.