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
warmed up; warming up; warms up
: to engage in exercise or practice especially before entering a game or contest
broadly
: to get ready
Synonyms
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
Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
After calmly and methodically taking his warm-up pitches with the sun setting ever so quickly behind third base, Garonzik worked back-to-back strikeouts to seal Pikesville’s 7-5 victory against host Franklin.
—James Peters, Baltimore Sun, 8 Apr. 2024
Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 23 May 2024
Leading up to their ceremonial first pitches, it was noted that Brink had been seen warming up her pitching arm while Jackson had not.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for warm-up 
Noun
Before a room where Nigerian military brass mingled with Latvian diplomats, Harris delivered a State of the Union warm-up to Democrats in Ohio.
—Thomas Meaney, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
After calmly and methodically taking his warm-up pitches with the sun setting ever so quickly behind third base, Garonzik worked back-to-back strikeouts to seal Pikesville’s 7-5 victory against host Franklin.
—James Peters, Baltimore Sun, 8 Apr. 2024
Verb
Temperatures are warming up in Sacramento, just in time for Memorial Day.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 23 May 2024
Leading up to their ceremonial first pitches, it was noted that Brink had been seen warming up her pitching arm while Jackson had not.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for warm-up
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'warm-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near warm-up
Cite this Entry
“Warm-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/warm-up. Accessed 5 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
warm-up
1 of 2 noun
: 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
: to engage in preliminary exercise (as to stretch the muscles)
important to warm up properly before running
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share