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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of warm (up)
Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 6 Dec. 2024
Incorporate a proper warm-up routine before each training session to prepare your body for lifting and reduce injury risk.8
Powerlifting can seem intimidating at first.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 5 Dec. 2024
The good news is a warm-up forecast for next week, when Washington, D.C., could reach 65 degrees.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 4 Dec. 2024
Later this week, a gradual warm-up as clouds increase ahead of another front.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for warm (up) 
Noun
After gusty winds and frigid temperatures, Greater Cincinnati will experience a slight warm-up over the weekend into early next week.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 6 Dec. 2024
Incorporate a proper warm-up routine before each training session to prepare your body for lifting and reduce injury risk.8
Powerlifting can seem intimidating at first.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 5 Dec. 2024
The good news is a warm-up forecast for next week, when Washington, D.C., could reach 65 degrees.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 4 Dec. 2024
Later this week, a gradual warm-up as clouds increase ahead of another front.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for warm (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for warm (up)
Verb
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Here’s how can Hoosiers help bats at home Installing bat boxes can help provide emergency shelters for bats that might need them when proper roosts are unavailable.Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Dec. 2024
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This example, which comes to us from Bulang & Sons is a full kit, and shows enough age to provide a unique look.Blake Buettner, Robb Report, 27 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The altcoin rally observed since November appears to be a prelude to a bigger altcoin season in 2025.Marie Poteriaieva, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
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If past is prelude, Trump’s resulting approach will likely be highly disruptive—especially since some of his goals are mutually incompatible.Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Apparently real life—both past and present—supplied more than enough excitement.Victor Cha, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2024
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Johnson supplied his own menorah, which was made out of shrapnel from rockets shot down by the Israel Defense Forces.Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The Southern Section held its track and field preliminaries at four sites around Southern California on Saturday, and sophomore Brian Bonner of Valencia High continued his rise to prominence.Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
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In 1988: Greg Louganis won the gold medal in the 3-meter springboard at the Seoul Olympics one day after hitting his head on the diving board during the preliminaries.Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 21 Sep. 2024
Verb
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For a movie centered on the irrational, his version of the tale is substantially rationalized, with many exchanges and set pieces dramatically expanded to furnish the plot with more specific exposition and the characters with more explicit motives.Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
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The team also furnished the property with a slew of European brands like Molteni&C, Poltrona Frau and B&B Italia.Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2024
Verb
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While some prisons have taken steps to provide hospice and palliative care to a limited number of residents, many facilities are not equipped to care for a high volume of older adults, a report from the Office of the Inspector General confirms.Tom Chiodo, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
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This barrage of sensory stimuli asks more of our cognition than it is equipped to handle.Richard E. Cytowic, TIME, 23 Dec. 2024
Verb
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China has been calling for other nations armed with nuclear weapons to make the same commitment to no-first-use of nukes.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
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Advertisement But the filmmakers know when to elongate tension elsewhere, as in a deliciously mean-spirited dinner scene in which the Count, armed with his unwitting targets’ secret sins, toys with them, a performance that also betrays an inkling of his cruelty’s perilousness.Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2024
Verb
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These beautiful American Women quarters will be in circulation for decades to come and continue to educate the American people on our incredible honorees.Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
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Smith began working ahead of the 2018 midterm election to educate and register Black and brown voters, contracting with Rock The Vote, among others.Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near warm (up)
Cite this Entry
“Warm (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/warm%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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