warm-up

1 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly warmup
1
: the act or an instance of warming up
also : a preparatory activity or procedure
2
: a suit for exercise or casual wear consisting of a jacket or sweatshirt and pants
often used in plural

called also warm-up suit

warm up

2 of 2

verb

warmed up; warming up; warms up

intransitive verb

: to engage in exercise or practice especially before entering a game or contest
broadly : to get ready

Examples of warm-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Torre recommends incorporating dynamic ankle and lower-body stretches into your running warm-ups and more static stretches into your cool-downs. Amy Marturana Winderl, SELF, 8 Apr. 2024 Kansas City weekend forecast A weekend warm-up begins with sunny, low 60-degree weather expected Friday. Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024 Temperatures will be near to slightly below normal during the afternoon with northwest winds preventing any significant warm-up. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 26 Mar. 2024 And a smaller-scale study found foam rolling during exercise warm-up sessions to be more effective than both static and dynamic stretching for improving flexibility without hampering strength. Dana Santas, CNN, 25 Mar. 2024 Temperatures will warm-up into the end of the week with 70s expected by Thursday and Friday. David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Mar. 2024 Saturday brings a slight warm-up to the mid-50s and a chance of showers. Detroit Free Press, 14 Mar. 2024 After a five- to 10-minute warm-up, alternate 30 second sprints with 30- to 60-second breaks, repeating four to eight times. Amanda Loudin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2024 Trump won the North Dakota caucuses on Monday, in a warm-up for Super Tuesday. Katie Glueck Michelle Gustafson, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024
Verb
The reception also included puppies to warm up the crowd. Clayton Davis, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024 His teammates, including running back British Brooks, defensive back Gio Biggers, linebacker Amari Gainer, and center Corey Gaynor, are getting warmed up. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 29 Mar. 2024 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was up first to warm up the crowd of about 5,000 supporters. Colleen Long, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024 Lotfi Ibrahim, 31, came to the shop on a recent morning to warm up after spending the night sleeping on the subway. Liam Stack Stephanie Keith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024 The construction workers were on break at the time of the collapse and had been sitting in their trucks to warm up when the ship smashed into the bridge. Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024 Lily Rose was at this arena just four and a half months ago, warming up the crowd for Shania Twain. Journal Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2024 Snow showers, gusty winds, and below average temperatures to finish this weekend, with an early week warm up that will be followed by a mid-week return to active weather. Angela Rodriguez, Sacramento Bee, 25 Mar. 2024 This rich, dimensional look is a great way to warm up your complexion and add an overall glow. Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'warm-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1846, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of warm-up was in 1846

Dictionary Entries Near warm-up

Cite this Entry

“Warm-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warm-up. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

warm-up

noun
ˈwȯr-ˌməp
1
: the act or an instance of warming up
2
: a practice or set of exercises done before a game, contest, or workout

Medical Definition

warm-up

1 of 2 noun
: the act or an instance of warming up
also : a procedure (as a set of exercises) used in warming up

warm up

2 of 2 intransitive verb
: to engage in preliminary exercise (as to stretch the muscles)
important to warm up properly before running

More from Merriam-Webster on warm-up

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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