warm-up

noun

ˈwȯrm-ˌəp 

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

Synonyms of warm-up

• prelude
• preliminary

Examples of warm-up in a Sentence

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

Phillips was evaluated by the Marlins trainer, made several warm-up pitches and remained in the game. —CBS News, 6 June 2026

Phillips was evaluated by the Marlins trainer, made several warm-up pitches and remained in the game. —ABC News, 5 June 2026

The 7-footer practiced Tuesday, then went through a pregame warm-up Wednesday with a brace on his hand. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026

England are braced for potential disruption to their two warm-up friendlies in Florida, against New Zealand in Tampa on Saturday, and Costa Rica in Orlando on June 10. —Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for warm-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

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

ˈwȯr-ˌməp 

: 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

(ˈ)wȯr-ˈməp 

: to engage in preliminary exercise (as to stretch the muscles)

important to warm up properly before running