wet down

verb

To make (something) wet, especially as a preliminary step in cleaning it.

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Meanings

verbwet down (third-person singular simple present wets down, present participle wetting down, simple past and past participle wet down or wetted down)

present singular third person wets down · participle present wetting down · participle past wetted down · past wetted down

  1. transitiveTo make (something) wet, especially as a preliminary step in cleaning it.

    […] the cabin torn away, and the ward-room all aslop from wetting down the decks while passing powder.

    1859, William Maxwell Wood, Fankwei, page 432
nounwet down (uncountable)
  1. USalternativeuncountablefirefightingAlternative form of wetdown (A traditional ceremony of spraying water over a new fire truck before it is placed into service.)

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hose down
Cite this entry
APA

wet down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wet%20down

MLA

“wet down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wet%20down. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wet down,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wet%20down.

Source: wet down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.