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Meaning & use

wet winter

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˌwet ˈwɪntə/
US/ˌwet ˈwɪntər/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A winter season that receives more rain or snow than is normal for that place.

    Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a wet winter' or 'wet winters'. Use 'a' or 'the' before it when talking about a particular winter.

    Patterns

    • a wet winter
    • wet winters
    • have a wet winter
    • expect a wet winter

    The farmers are worried because a wet winter could damage the crops.

    We had a wet winter last year, with rain almost every week.

    After three wet winters in a row, the ground never dried out.

  2. nouncountable

    A winter that is unusually rainy or snowy compared to a typical one.

    Grammar: Often used with 'unusually' or 'especially' to emphasize the difference from normal.

    Patterns

    • an unusually wet winter
    • an especially wet winter
    • a very wet winter

    Meteorologists are predicting an unusually wet winter for the region.

    An especially wet winter caused flooding in many low-lying areas.

    The ski resort had a very wet winter, so the snow turned to slush quickly.

Word forms

pluralwet winters

Common combinations

a wet winter
A wet winter can lead to a good harvest the following year.
have a wet winter
We usually have a wet winter here, so we always carry umbrellas.
an unusually wet winter
An unusually wet winter forced the city to close some roads.
a wet winter season
The wet winter season lasts from November to March.
a mild and wet winter
The south of the country experienced a mild and wet winter.

Synonyms and how they differ

rainy winter
Focuses specifically on rain, not snow; use it when you want to emphasize rainfall rather than overall wetness.
snowy winter
Emphasizes snow rather than rain; a wet winter can include both, but snowy winter is more specific.
damp winter
Suggests a slight, unpleasant wetness rather than heavy rain or snow; it's less about quantity and more about feeling.

Opposites

dry winter

Word family

wet adjective
Covered or soaked with liquid, especially water.
winter noun
The coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring.
wintry adjective
Typical of winter; cold and often snowy.

Commonly confused: wet winter or rainy winter?

wet winter vs rainy winter

A rainy winter means a winter with a lot of rain, but a wet winter can also mean a winter with a lot of snow. If you want to be specific about rain, use 'rainy'.

Practice

Complete the sentence: 'The region had ___ winter, with heavy rain every week.'

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “wet winter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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