warp

verb

warped; warping; warps

transitive verb

1

: to arrange (yarns) so as to form a warp

2

a

: to turn or twist out of or as if out of shape

especially : to twist or bend out of a plane

b

: to cause to judge, choose, or act wrongly or abnormally : pervert

c

: distort

… intellect and learning … warped by prejudices …

—Irving Wallace

warps space and time

d

: to deflect from a course

3

: to move (something, such as a ship) by hauling on a line attached to a fixed object

intransitive verb

1

: to become warped

2

: to move a ship by warping

warper noun

Synonyms of warp

• distort
• misrepresent

Choose the Right Synonym for warp

deform, distort, contort, warp means to mar or spoil by or as if by twisting.

deform may imply a change of shape through stress, injury, or accident of growth.

a face deformed by hatred

distort and contort both imply a wrenching from the natural or normal, but contort suggests a more involved twisting and a more grotesque and painful result.

the odd camera angle distorts the figure

disease had contorted her body

warp indicates an uneven shrinking that bends or twists out of a flat plane.

warped floorboards

Examples of warp in a Sentence

The wood was warped by moisture.

The heat caused the wood to warp.

He held prejudices that warped his judgment.

Recent Examples on the Web

However, even for the Rimbaud-faithful in the crowd, Wang never seems satisfied with rote presentation, and warps the confines of his form with magnificent imagination. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 2 June 2026

General relativity suggests that objects with mass cause spacetime (the four-dimensional unification of space and time) to warp. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 1 June 2026

Knibbs asks Steve Rosenbaum, whose book about how AI warps perception was produced with assistance from AI, to explain himself. —Literary Hub, 1 June 2026

Behind them, a floor-warping, extraterrestrial center in Victor Wembanyama. —Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 31 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing warp

• time warp
• warp and woof
• warp beam
• warp knit
• warp speed

Rhymes for warp

• thorp

Kids Definition

warp

1 of 2 noun

ˈwȯ(ə)rp 

1

: a series of yarns going lengthwise in a loom and crossed by the woof

2

: a twist or curve in something once flat or straight

a warp in a door

warp

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: to turn or twist out of shape

b

: to cause to judge, choose, or act wrongly : pervert

2

: to arrange so as to form a warp

warp yarns

warper noun