Dictionary

wet one's pants en · VERB

Etymology

The senses referring to laughing and being afraid are extensions from the literal (urination) sense; both involve an element of variably literal or figurative nature: they are generally figurative, but if one laughs hard enough or gets frightened badly enough, the wetting may sometimes happen literally.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To wet oneself, to urinate in one's clothes while wearing them.
   • If you keep on refusing to excuse anyone for a bathroom break, you're going to force someone to wet their pants. Don't go overboard with it.
2. (idiomatic, informal, vulgar) To laugh uncontrollably.
   • Pretty much the whole night at the comedy club was hilarious, but that encore by Taylor Tomlinson had me wetting my pants.
3. (idiomatic, informal, vulgar) To be afraid; especially, to be extremely afraid.
   • He just about wet his pants when he found out how many accounts receivable were still outstanding.

Forms

Coordinates

wet the bed · crap one's pants

Relateds

scaredy pants (fear)

Synonyms

piss one's pants (all senses) · crap one's pants