Wetness is the condition of being covered with or soaked in water or another liquid. When you step out of the pool, the wetness on your skin makes you feel cool as the water evaporates. When rain soaks through your jacket, you feel the uncomfortable wetness spreading across your shirt.

Wetness is what you experience when liquid clings to a surface. A wet sponge holds water in its tiny holes. Wet paint hasn't dried yet and will smear if you touch it. Wet grass in the morning is covered with dew that soaks through your shoes.

The word captures both the physical state of having liquid on something and the sensation it creates. Different materials handle wetness differently: a towel absorbs it quickly, while a raincoat repels it. Scientists who study wetness (called wetting) examine how liquids interact with different surfaces, which matters for everything from waterproof clothing to how paint sticks to walls.

You can also use wetness to describe how much liquid something contains. The wetness of cake batter affects how the cake turns out. Farmers care about soil wetness because it determines whether their crops will grow well.