I. warm up phrasal verb (see also warm)

1. MAKE WARM to become warm, or to make someone or something warm:
With the fire on, the room should soon warm up.
Once the weather warms up, you can move the plants outdoors.
warm something ↔ up
I turned on the grill to warm it up.
warm somebody up
Come inside and have a drink. It’ll warm you up.

2. FOOD to heat food, especially food that has already been cooked, so that it is hot enough to eat, or to become hot enough to eat
warm something ↔ up
I’ll put the lasagne in the oven to warm it up.

3. DO EXERCISES to do gentle physical exercises to prepare your body for dancing, sport etc:
The runners began warming up. ⇒ warm-up¹(1), warm-up²(2)

4. MACHINE/ENGINE if a machine or engine warms up, or if you warm it up, it becomes ready to work properly after being switched on:
He waited for the photocopier to warm up.
warm something ↔ up
He started to warm up the aircraft’s engines.

5. EVENT if a party, election etc warms up, it starts to become enjoyable or interesting, especially because more is happening:
The race for governor is beginning to warm up.

6. PRACTISE if musicians, singers, or performers warm up, they practise just before a performance:
The band had little time to warm up before going on stage.

7. PERFORM/SPEAK FIRST to perform or speak first at an event, so that the people listening are relaxed or excited before the main singer, speaker etc comes on
warm somebody ↔ up
He warmed up the audience by telling them a few jokes.
warm up for
They warmed up for U2 on one of their early tours.
⇒ look/feel like death warmed up/over at death(8)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. warm² (also warm up) verb [intransitive and transitive]
[Word Family: noun: warmth, the warm, warmer, warming; adverb: warmly, warm; adjective: warm, warming; verb: warm]
to make someone or something warm or warmer, or to become warm or warmer:
They gathered round the fire to warm their hands.
warm yourself
Warm yourself by the fire.
warm to somebody/something (also warm up to somebody/something American English) phrasal verb

1. to begin to like someone you have just met:
Bruce didn’t warm to him as he had to Casey.

2. to become more eager, interested, or excited about something
warm to a theme/subject/topic etc
The more she spoke, the more she warmed to her subject.
Voters are starting to warm up to the idea.
warm up phrasal verb

1. MAKE WARM to become warm, or to make someone or something warm:
With the fire on, the room should soon warm up.
Once the weather warms up, you can move the plants outdoors.
warm something ↔ up
I turned on the grill to warm it up.
warm somebody up
Come inside and have a drink. It’ll warm you up.

2. FOOD to heat food, especially food that has already been cooked, so that it is hot enough to eat, or to become hot enough to eat
warm something ↔ up
I’ll put the lasagne in the oven to warm it up.

3. DO EXERCISES to do gentle physical exercises to prepare your body for dancing, sport etc:
The runners began warming up. ⇒ warm-up¹(1), warm-up²(2)

4. MACHINE/ENGINE if a machine or engine warms up, or if you warm it up, it becomes ready to work properly after being switched on:
He waited for the photocopier to warm up.
warm something ↔ up
He started to warm up the aircraft’s engines.

5. EVENT if a party, election etc warms up, it starts to become enjoyable or interesting, especially because more is happening:
The race for governor is beginning to warm up.

6. PRACTISE if musicians, singers, or performers warm up, they practise just before a performance:
The band had little time to warm up before going on stage.

7. PERFORM/SPEAK FIRST to perform or speak first at an event, so that the people listening are relaxed or excited before the main singer, speaker etc comes on
warm somebody ↔ up
He warmed up the audience by telling them a few jokes.
warm up for
They warmed up for U2 on one of their early tours.
⇒ look/feel like death warmed up/over at death(8)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. ˈwarm-up¹ noun [countable]

1. a set of gentle exercises you do to prepare your body for sport, dancing etc ⇒ warm up at warm²

2. warm-ups American English informal clothes that you wear when you are doing exercises to prepare your body for playing a sport or dancing ⇒ sweat suit

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. warm-up² adjective

1. a warm-up match, game, or race is held to give the sportsmen or players practice before a big event

2. warm-up exercises are done to prepare your body before playing a sport or dancing

3. a warm-up jacket is worn to keep you warm when you are doing exercises

4. a warm-up man or band prepares the people at an event for the main speaker, singer etc by singing, telling jokes etc

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

exercise to walk, do sports etc in order to stay healthy and become stronger:
To lose weight, exercise regularly and eat less.
do some exercise/a lot of exercise etc this phrase is much more common than the verb exercise, and means the same thing:
Her doctor said that she needed to do more exercise.
My son does very little exercise – I don’t know how he stays so slim.
Dogs need lots of exercise.
stay/keep/get in shape to stay or to become physically healthy and strong – used especially when you consider exercise as a way to keep a nice-looking body:
Try jogging with a friend who also wants to get in shape.
keep fit British English to exercise regularly in order to stay healthy and strong:
The class encourages older people to keep fit.
work out to do exercise in order to be healthy and strong, especially to exercise regularly in a gym or exercise class:
He works out three times a week.
tone up (also firm up) to exercise in order to make your body or part of your body firmer:
I need to tone up my stomach and legs.
warm up to do gentle exercises to prepare your body for more active exercise:
It’s important to warm up before you begin to play.
stretch to reach your arms, legs, or body out to full length, in order to make your muscles as long as possible, so that you do not injure them when you exercise:
Jog for five minutes, then stretch before starting on your run.
limber up (also loosen up) to do gentle exercises so that your muscles are warm and not tight before you begin a more active exercise:
The footballers were limbering up before a training session.
train especially British English to prepare for a sporting event by exercising in a particular way:
She’s training to do the London Marathon.
practise British English, practice American English to do a sports activity regularly, in order to get better and prepare for competition:
The team practices on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

warm up
warm (someone) up
to cause someone to become more relaxed and friendly.
It is a good idea to warm up an audience with a few amusing stories before talking about serious things.

Do you think meditation might help warm him up before he gets out there to speak?

warm up (something)
to briefly exercise as preparation for something.
She warms her voice up before a concert by singing scales and making funny noises.

He always warmed up for about 15 minutes before his morning run.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of warm something up (= to cause the temperature of something to increase)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

warm up something
warm up (something)
to briefly exercise as preparation for something.
She warms her voice up before a concert by singing scales and making funny noises.

He always warmed up for about 15 minutes before his morning run.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of warm something up (= to cause the temperature of something to increase)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

warm up
get ready for a game or other event with exercise or practice
We spent two hours warming up for the game on Saturday.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

warm up(1)
v.
1. To reheat cooked food.
Mr. Jones was so late that his dinner got cold; his wife had to warm it up.
When the children had left for school, their mother warmed up the breakfast coffee.
2. To become friendly or interested.
It takes an hour or so for some children to warm up to strangers.
As he warmed up to his subject, Tom forgot his bashfulness.
3. To get ready for a game or other event by exercising or practicing.
The dancers began to warm up fifteen minutes before the performance.
The coach told us to warm up before entering the pool.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

warm-up(2)
n. A period of exercise or practice in preparation for a game or other event.
During the warm-up the baseball players were throwing the ball around and running up and down the side of the field.
Before the television quiz program, there was a warm-up to prepare the contestants.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲