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
warmed up; warming up; warms up
: to engage in exercise or practice especially before entering a game or contest
broadly
: to get ready
Examples of warm-up in a Sentence
Noun
the couple's initial exchange of insults proved to be only a warm-up for their booze-fueled fight later that night
Recent Examples on the Web
Tim Spiers, New York Times, 20 June 2025
The three-time major winner, who had never previously withdrawn from a professional event in 297 career PGA Tour starts, cited a sudden upper back and neck injury that flared up during his warm-up at TPC River Highlands.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
From fall through spring, head out on a full moon glacier trek or witness rippling electric green and pink northern lights, then warm up around a bonfire or in the sauna.
—Chloe Berge, Outside Online, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for warm-up
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Noun
Queen’s, sponsor-titled as the HSBC Championships, is the premier warm-up for Wimbledon at the start of the tennis grass-court season.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 20 June 2025
The three-time major winner, who had never previously withdrawn from a professional event in 297 career PGA Tour starts, cited a sudden upper back and neck injury that flared up during his warm-up at TPC River Highlands.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025
Verb
Justin Fields #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium on December 08, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
From fall through spring, head out on a full moon glacier trek or witness rippling electric green and pink northern lights, then warm up around a bonfire or in the sauna.
—Chloe Berge, Outside Online, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for warm-up
Cite this Entry
“Warm-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warm-up. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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