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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of warm (up)
Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 26 Jan. 2026
He was signed by Manchester Originals in the 2025 Hundred draft despite not yet having made his domestic T20 debut, and made twin half-centuries in the pre-Ashes warm-up against the full Test squad.
—Sam Dalling, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
His marketing of Marty’s requisite warm-up jacket, worn by Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns and Frank Ocean among others, is a study in Starter-era NBA nostalgia and hype goosed by lavish co-signs (the jacket flips for around $10,000 lately on StockX).
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
During her on-court warm-ups, Osaka donned a zip-up jacket with organic, wavy tendrils hanging from the sleeves.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for warm (up)
Noun
Set clear time limits and bring children inside for warm-up breaks.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 26 Jan. 2026
He was signed by Manchester Originals in the 2025 Hundred draft despite not yet having made his domestic T20 debut, and made twin half-centuries in the pre-Ashes warm-up against the full Test squad.
—Sam Dalling, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
His marketing of Marty’s requisite warm-up jacket, worn by Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns and Frank Ocean among others, is a study in Starter-era NBA nostalgia and hype goosed by lavish co-signs (the jacket flips for around $10,000 lately on StockX).
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
During her on-court warm-ups, Osaka donned a zip-up jacket with organic, wavy tendrils hanging from the sleeves.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for warm (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for warm (up)
Verb
-
The military leader of the West African country has accused the presidents of France, Benin and Ivory Coast of supporting the armed group behind the attack, without providing any evidence to support the claim.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The Giants have provided a statement from Tisch addressing the emails.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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When Alvarado asked if the singles are the prelude to the first full album from GNR to feature him and fellow OG member bassist Duff McKagan since the Illusion LPs, Slash dropped a double-dose of good news.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
29 Jan. 2026
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For instance, with Saturn and Neptune entering your seventh house of partnerships for the first time in decades (after a brief prelude in 2025), you're presented with an opportunity to level up in both your personal and professional life.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The proceeds were then used to supply munitions to anti-Communist forces in Nicaragua.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Feb. 2026
-
So haphazard was the preparation that the British government couldn’t even supply uniforms of matching colors, hence the two-color eponym.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Lower‑demand preliminaries will likely be the most affordable, while high‑profile events—gymnastics finals, swimming finals, track and field, and the opening ceremony—will sit at the top end of the pricing spectrum.—
Paris Wilson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Jan. 2026
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Is it reduced to yet another fill-in-the-blank preliminary to a national title game in some super-duper-they-look-alike stadium?—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Ambrosia Chocolate, founded in 1894, was known as the largest manufacturer of pure chocolate products, furnishing the chocolate coating for much of the candy produced in Milwaukee.—
Elaine Rewolinski,
jsonline.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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Johnson and the lull after early record-breaking business Johnson’s early £35m signing came with the intention of rectifying the mistakes made in the summer window, which Glasner had publicly complained had not furnished him with a squad capable of competing on four fronts.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Artificial intelligence inspires both excitement and anxiety, and few people are as well equipped to separate signal from noise as Rajeev Kapur.—
Rodger Dean Duncan,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The property is equipped with a heating system.—
Bay Area Home Report,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Toward that goal, retailers can arm store associates with technology that supports sales.—
Sarah Jones,
Footwear News,
23 Jan. 2026
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Beck features the size (6-4, 220), arm talent and intangibles that NFL teams seek in a starting QB, but the inconsistency followed him to Coral Gables.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
3 Feb. 2026
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To many charter school advocates, declining enrollments are a result of IPS' failures to educate historically underserved students, sparking their flight to charters.—
Marissa Meador,
IndyStar,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Warm (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/warm%20%28up%29. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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