as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event
the couple's initial exchange of insults proved to be only a warm-up for their booze-fueled fight later that night
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Recent Examples of warm (up)
Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2025
With conditions restored on the 236-meter flight deck, Barone made multiple warm-up passes to heat the SF90’s V8 engine and then launched from the aft end, stopping safely before ascending the ramp.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2025
Certainly more crowd response than is usually seen from a warm-up.
—James Nalton, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
O’Hoppe been out since A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson inadvertently nicked him with a warm-up swing.
—Andrew Wagner, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for warm (up)
Verb
But a couple of days before the album came out, the band was forced to cancel three release-week shows after Oberst suffered a severe vocal injury following several warm-up shows.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2025
With conditions restored on the 236-meter flight deck, Barone made multiple warm-up passes to heat the SF90’s V8 engine and then launched from the aft end, stopping safely before ascending the ramp.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2025
Certainly more crowd response than is usually seen from a warm-up.
—James Nalton, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
O’Hoppe been out since A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson inadvertently nicked him with a warm-up swing.
—Andrew Wagner, Oc Register, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for warm (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for warm (up)
Noun
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The Venezuelan regime has condemned the deployment as an act of coercion and a potential prelude to intervention.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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What wasn’t revealed at the time, however, was how this was a prelude to the Netflix special early next year.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Numbers provided by Cincinnati Public Schools show that the school district had 4,326 homeless students last year, representing a 77% increase from a decade prior, despite total student enrollment increasing by only 538 students over the same period of time.—
Elizabeth B. Kim,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Oct. 2025
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Green Hill plans to help restart Smith Springs financially, provide manpower for physical work and could potentially have some of its congregants move to Smith Springs Baptist, officials said.—
Andy Humbles,
Nashville Tennessean,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Galvin’s spokesperson said the issue was not related with the city’s administration of the preliminary.—
Lance Reynolds,
Boston Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
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The sheriff's office preliminary determined that the body belonged to the missing teenager.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But tech firms are betting the line will go further up, with Samsung agreeing to supply chips for OpenAI’s $500-billion data center investment.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Back in May, one Facebook user posted a question in the public group What to pack for Italy - Travel Essentials regarding whether or not Italian hotels supplied conditioner for guests.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This multi-level facility unfolds to reveal a waiting room, patient rooms, and operating rooms, each of which are spacious and well-furnished.—
Pamela Brill,
Parents,
2 Oct. 2025
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Kerby Cetoute, 70 Boylston Street, Malden, furnishing false ID to law enforcement.—
Matthew Medsger,
Boston Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The mind could wander briefly about the Giants riding a two-game winning streak into a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Eagles, equipped to knock off their tormentors who suddenly look vulnerable.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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The country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency told AP that rescue teams were using heavy excavators equipped with jackhammers and circular saws, as well as their bare hands on occasion, to find the 14 students still missing.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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We’d be traveling to a bunker near another unit, Team B, which would assemble suicide drones and arm them with explosives.—
Ken Harbaugh,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
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Topline Shares of gun manufacturers spiked immediately following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus Wednesday, a market trend that typically happens after high-profile shootings as people tend to arm themselves and fear possible restrictions on gun sales.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.—
Megan O’Matz,
ProPublica,
8 Oct. 2025
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For example, the nation’s premiere federal cybersecurity scholarship program to recruit, educate and place future federal cybersecurity workers would be reduced by over 60%.—
Richard Forno,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Warm (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/warm%20%28up%29. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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