Meaning & use
wetwork
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Meaning
noununcountable
Slang for assassination or other violent secret work in which blood is spilled, especially carried out for an intelligence service.
Grammar: Mass noun, no plural: the wetwork was done at night.
Patterns
- do the wetwork
- a wetwork specialist
In spy novels, an agent is sometimes hired for wetwork.
The film's villain left the wetwork to hired professionals.
He denied any involvement in wetwork during the cold war.
Common combinations
- specialize in wetwork
- The character specializes in wetwork for the agency.
- wetwork team
- A wetwork team was sent abroad.
- do wetwork
- He refused to do wetwork any longer.
- wetwork operative
- The wetwork operative left no trace.
Synonyms and how they differ
- assassination
- Assassination is the standard neutral term, while wetwork is slang and implies an organized secret job.
- hit
- A hit is slang for a planned killing, often by criminals rather than agents.
- contract killing
- Contract killing stresses payment for the act, not spy work.
Word family
Commonly confused: wetwork or wet work?
wetwork vs wet work
Wet work is just the two-word spelling of the same term; some people also use it for tasks that involve water.
Practice
In a spy thriller, a character who is sent to do 'wetwork' is most likely being sent to ______.
Choose one answer.
In slang, wetwork means violent secret work such as assassination, not literal plumbing or cleaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wetwork”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.