/ vet; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
( especially BrE ) ( NAmE usually vet·er·in·ar·ian ) (also BrE formal ˈveterinary surgeon ) a person who has been trained in the science of animal medicine, whose job is to treat animals who are sick or injured
2.
vet's ( pl. vets ) the place where a vet works :
I've got to take the dog to the vet's tomorrow.
3.
( NAmE , informal ) = veteran :
a Vietnam vet
■ verb ( -tt- ) [ vn ] ( BrE )
1.
to find out about a person's past life and career in order to decide if they are suitable for a particular job
SYN screen :
All candidates are carefully vetted for security reasons.
—see also positive vetting
2.
to check the contents, quality, etc. of sth carefully
SYN screen :
All reports are vetted before publication.
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WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 2 and verb mid 19th cent: abbreviation of veterinary or veterinarian .
noun sense 3 mid 19th cent.: abbreviation.