limber up

phrasal verb

limbered up; limbering up; limbers up

: to prepare for physical activity by doing exercises so that one's body can move and bend more easily

She limbered up for a few minutes before starting to run.

—sometimes used figuratively

She limbered up for the election by learning the relevant statistics.

Examples of limber up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There was a ripple of audience laugher during the buildup, when a member of the troupe wearing a top hat performed elaborate stretches as though limbering up for a marathon. —Houman Barekat, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

Sports fans in the UK can technically start their Sunday with some NBA at a time when only Santa’s hard-working elves should be awake, limbering up for the marathon ahead. —Eduardo Tansley, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024

But during the middle stretch, everyone limbers up—Discs 15 and 16, afternoon and evening shows in Houston, are particularly loose and swinging, Robbie uncoiling like a snake. —Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2024

With only about a hundred days left in the year, execs are limbering up for the annual marathon of meetings to decide next year’s goals, metrics, and resource allocations. —Dev Patnaik, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024

The cast’s limbering up to run through more scenes. —Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 10 July 2024

The rest of the runners are present and accounted for this morning, limbering up under a sky of gathering clouds. —Maya Singer, Vogue, 9 July 2024

Competitive eaters are limbering up their stomachs and grills are lighting up across the country—summer holiday cookout season has arrived. —Rachel Murphy, Verywell Health, 3 July 2024

Go ahead and crack those knuckles and limber up the fingertips. —Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2024

Rhymes for limber up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup