warm up

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

Kickoff in the pre-World Cup friendly at Chase Stadium, scheduled for 8pm ET, was postponed by 36 minutes after torrential rain and an electrical storm prevented the players from taking to the field for their usual pre-game warm up. —Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 3 June 2026

To hold their state and keep them in the traps, lasers must be used to cool the atoms, which tend to warm up during operations. —ArsTechnica, 3 June 2026

Russell Wilso of the Seattle Seahawks warms up prior to Super Bowl against the New England Patriots XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. —Romi Bean, CBS News, 3 June 2026

And while daytime temperatures often warm up nicely, mornings and evenings can be brisk, so be sure to bring layers. —Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

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