warm-up

1 of 2

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

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

Synonyms of warm-up

Noun

• prelude
• preliminary

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

Noun

Brownwood defeated Lake Worth, 2-0 in a playoff warm-up game in Brownwood on March 12. —Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026

Temperatures are running 15 to 25 degrees above normal, and that rapid warm-up is taking a toll on the snowpack. —Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026

Verb

Just as the weather was starting to warm up, a cold front is expected to pass through northern Illinois and northwest Indiana Thursday afternoon creating conditions for a severe thunderstorm category three out of five, the National Weather Service said. —Laura Turbay, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026

Alternatively, the flowers do well under shrubs that leaf out to provide shady conditions as the season warms up, helping extend the blooms. —Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 24 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1915, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

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