Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A veterinarian.
  • intransitive verb To subject to veterinary evaluation, examination, medication, or surgery.
  • intransitive verb To subject to thorough examination or evaluation.
  • intransitive verb To engage in the practice of veterinary medicine.
  • noun A veteran.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An abbreviation of veteran
  • noun of veterinary.
  • noun A colloquial contraction of veterinary (surgeon).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To thoroughly check or investigate particularly with regard to providing formal approval.
  • noun colloquial A veterinarian or veterinary surgeon.
  • noun colloquial A veteran (a former soldier or other member of an armed forces).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb work as a veterinarian
  • noun a doctor who practices veterinary medicine
  • verb examine carefully
  • noun a person who has served in the armed forces
  • verb provide (a person) with medical care
  • verb provide veterinary care for

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

possibly by analogy from Etymology 1, in the sense of "verifying the soundness [of an animal]"

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Clipping of veterinarian, or veterinary surgeon.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Clipping of veteran.

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Examples

Comments

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  • The colloquial sense of "subject to careful examination" comes from Kipling. Well, knock me over with a feather.

    July 12, 2007

  • "vet" in Hungarian means: to sow

    August 1, 2012