plural vets
: veterinarian
a vet who specializes in equine care
Raven left home for university and is studying to become a vet.—
Emma Tinson
Emma TinsonWhen the vet gives Freddy a rabies shot, the dog doesn't flinch.—Susan Buchsbaum
Susan Buchsbaum
plural vets
: veteran
military vets
war/combat vets
receives vet benefits
The men they knew there were twenty-nine or thirty years old, and vets of Korea.—Mary Ferraro
Mary Ferraro
vetted; vetting; vets
1
a
: to evaluate for possible approval or acceptance
vet the candidates for a position
All our requests for documents were vetted by a woman from the KGB.—Orlando Figes
Orlando FigesBecause organizers know that the success of their fairs is always a function of the quality of the merchandise …, many of them vet the items being sold.—Jeffrey Robinson
Jeffrey Robinson
b
: to subject to usually expert appraisal or correction
vet a manuscript
… the ad agency that vets the show's plot line for authenticity.—Mark Harris
Mark HarrisHe writes his speeches in longhand and often holds them until the last minute so that they cannot be vetted by aides or Government ministers.—Howell Raines
Howell RainesI don't care to see Dr. Stopler and have my weaknesses vetted.—Richard Ford
Richard Ford2
: to provide veterinary care for (an animal) : to subject (an animal) to veterinary examination
The SCHS works directly with the municipal county shelter by taking animals into our foster care system, fully vetting them and adopting them to forever homes.—Steve Rogers
Steve Rogers"As a practicing veterinarian many years ago," writes Douglas F. McBride of Washingtonville, N.Y., "I was occasionally called to vet a horse. …"—William Safire
William Safire
vetter
noun
plural vetters
Did you know?
A Brief History of the Verb Vet
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."
Synonyms
Examples of vet in a Sentence
Noun (1)
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 WebRachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Earlier, the industry vet had held various roles at broadcast equipment manufacturer Grass Valley.
—Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
However, the city has high annual vet rates, at $881 per year.
—Mary Jo Dilonardo, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024
Baby’s mother, Marjorie, is played by Broadway vet Kelly Bishop.
—EW.com, 30 Mar. 2024
Working with vet nutritionists, food scientists, designers, and engineers, the human-grade dog food brand is meant to elevate the lives of dogs and their humans.
—Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 29 Mar. 2024
Pop them in a box with a warm source and seek help from your local vets.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Although there are poignant moments, like when Merit and her grandfather compare their experiences as vets or reminisce about their summers at the lake house, the film often feels far too scattered for its own good.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
Adapted from Sara Gruen’s 2006 best-seller, the story follows the young Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin), a vet school dropout who stumbles into a job with a down-and-out circus in the early 1930s.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2023
Known for roles in shows like A Chorus Line and Chicago, the 54-year-old Broadway vet is making a personal dream come true with his one-man web series 11 O'Clock Number, which reimagines 12 iconic songs from the Great White Way as a dozen narrative episodes.
—Janine Rubenstein, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2023
One of Costner’s finest performances as the grizzled vet behind the plate.
—Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, 8 Apr. 2023
In 2017 then-Journal Sentinel columnist Jim Stingl visited Franzke and his wife in their Waukesha home as the vet was filmed for another dance video.
—Bill Glauber, Journal Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2023
In the space of so much time, the American vet had come to realize the book was not too beautiful to hand over.
—Megan Burrow and Nhung Nguyen, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2023
Montgomery continued to have little info on either of the vets.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023
The same vet will be acquainted with particular dogs that may have aroused concern earlier in the race.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Mar. 2023
The half-hour preshow will hail from The Comedy Store in L.A., with the producers able to secure messages from Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Sir Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and The Chris Rock Show vet Wanda Sykes.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2023
Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024
The State Department is still vetting all of the Kenyan police units that would deploy to Haiti to make sure they have not been involved in human rights violations, which would exclude them from U.S. assistance.
—Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
The questions were never vetted, the audience members never preselected.
—Krista Stevens, Longreads, 11 Mar. 2024
The Parlor Bar magician will stay on the ship for a couple months at a time, while the magician performing in the theater will change every cruise or two, but all are vetted by the Magic Castle team.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
If the federal government had additional resources, the federal government could vet migrants on an ongoing basis.
—CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
The San Mateo Police Department did not properly vet Winchester before hiring him, according to the law group.
—Jason Green, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
The three candidates permitted to run against Putin, each of whom received less than 5% of the vote, were vetted by the Kremlin.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Editors then vet these nominations and select a final set of contenders to present to the voting public for a period of four weeks.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024
Noun
But what about vet offices that are closed for the eclipse — as Carlson's briefly was — or hard to get to on the day of the eclipse?
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Earlier, the industry vet had held various roles at broadcast equipment manufacturer Grass Valley.
—Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
However, the city has high annual vet rates, at $881 per year.
—Mary Jo Dilonardo, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024
Baby’s mother, Marjorie, is played by Broadway vet Kelly Bishop.
—EW.com, 30 Mar. 2024
Working with vet nutritionists, food scientists, designers, and engineers, the human-grade dog food brand is meant to elevate the lives of dogs and their humans.
—Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 29 Mar. 2024
Pop them in a box with a warm source and seek help from your local vets.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Although there are poignant moments, like when Merit and her grandfather compare their experiences as vets or reminisce about their summers at the lake house, the film often feels far too scattered for its own good.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
Adapted from Sara Gruen’s 2006 best-seller, the story follows the young Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin), a vet school dropout who stumbles into a job with a down-and-out circus in the early 1930s.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Noun
With the filmmaker's modern muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, and reigning Best Actor winner Brendan Fraser at the center of his new western-tinged thriller, expect signature Scorsese as the Hollywood vet continues pushing boundaries to new frontiers with this Apple streaming venture.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 13 Apr. 2023
Known for roles in shows like A Chorus Line and Chicago, the 54-year-old Broadway vet is making a personal dream come true with his one-man web series 11 O'Clock Number, which reimagines 12 iconic songs from the Great White Way as a dozen narrative episodes.
—Janine Rubenstein, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2023
One of Costner’s finest performances as the grizzled vet behind the plate.
—Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, 8 Apr. 2023
In 2017 then-Journal Sentinel columnist Jim Stingl visited Franzke and his wife in their Waukesha home as the vet was filmed for another dance video.
—Bill Glauber, Journal Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2023
In the space of so much time, the American vet had come to realize the book was not too beautiful to hand over.
—Megan Burrow and Nhung Nguyen, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2023
Montgomery continued to have little info on either of the vets.
—Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023
The same vet will be acquainted with particular dogs that may have aroused concern earlier in the race.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Mar. 2023
The half-hour preshow will hail from The Comedy Store in L.A., with the producers able to secure messages from Cedric the Entertainer, Ice-T, Sir Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman and The Chris Rock Show vet Wanda Sykes.
—Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2023
Verb
Adams said the city will also use the 90-day waiting period to vet other vendors.
—Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024
The State Department is still vetting all of the Kenyan police units that would deploy to Haiti to make sure they have not been involved in human rights violations, which would exclude them from U.S. assistance.
—Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
The questions were never vetted, the audience members never preselected.
—Krista Stevens, Longreads, 11 Mar. 2024
The Parlor Bar magician will stay on the ship for a couple months at a time, while the magician performing in the theater will change every cruise or two, but all are vetted by the Magic Castle team.
—Nathan Diller, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
If the federal government had additional resources, the federal government could vet migrants on an ongoing basis.
—CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
The San Mateo Police Department did not properly vet Winchester before hiring him, according to the law group.
—Jason Green, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
The three candidates permitted to run against Putin, each of whom received less than 5% of the vote, were vetted by the Kremlin.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Editors then vet these nominations and select a final set of contenders to present to the voting public for a period of four weeks.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near vet
Cite this Entry
“Vet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vet. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vet
1 of 2 nounvet
2 of 2 noun
: veteran
Medical Definition
vet
1 of 2 nounvet
2 of 2 transitive verb
vetted; vetting
1
: to provide veterinary care for (an animal) or medical care for (a person)
2
: to subject (a person or animal) to a physical examination or checkup
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