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 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
  • Cyrus Mewawalla, head of strategic intelligence at GlobalData, said cloud-heavy hyperscalers are being rewarded for turning AI investment into sales, sharpening the split between winners and losers.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
  • More than 70 years later, designers are sharpening it once again.
    — Georgia Brown, Glamour, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of sharpening
Verb
  • Pay attention to unusual rattling, buzzing, grinding or squealing sounds.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • Eversource spent the better part of the spring and early summer in a wide, sideways channel, grinding between roughly $66 and $72 while the 200-day continued its long climb higher.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 30 July 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 7 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on whetting

Nglish: Translation of whetting for Spanish Speakers

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