Warm

/wɔːm/ adj, noun, verb, slang

adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: The act of warming, or the state of being warmed; a heating.
  • Grammar: warm is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: abandoned, ablaze, abounding in riches, aestival.
  • Useful contrasts: Arctic, cold, cool.
  • Usage evidence: You're starting to warm up now.

How to use "warm"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "warm" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "warm" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "warm" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "warm" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "warm" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "abandoned" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "warm", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of warming, or the state of being warmed; a heating. colloquial

    "Shall I give your coffee a warm in the microwave?"

Verb
  1. 1
    To make or keep warm. transitive

    "Then shall it [an ash tree] be for a man to burn; for he will take thereof and warm himself."

  2. 2
    make warm or warmer wordnet
  3. 3
    To become warm, to heat up. intransitive

    "My socks are warming by the fire."

  4. 4
    get warm or warmer wordnet
  5. 5
    (sometimes in the form warm up) To favour increasingly. intransitive

    "Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected."

Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    To cause (someone) to favour (something) increasingly. ditransitive

    "It is with no small degree of irony that I confess that immersing myself in an interdisciplinary project has warmed me to the seductions of disciplinary perspectives."

  2. 7
    To become ardent or animated. intransitive

    "The speaker warms as he proceeds."

  3. 8
    To make engaged or earnest; to interest; to engage; to excite ardor or zeal in; to enliven. transitive

    "1717 November 20, Alexander Pope, letter to the Bishop of Rochester there was a collection of all that had been written […] : I warmed my head with them."

  4. 9
    To give emotional warmth to a person. transitive

    "That is just the way God tells me this book is His Word. I read it, and it warms me and gives me light."

  5. 10
    To beat or spank. colloquial, transitive

    "Not bothering to turn around and not missing a mouthful, Myrtle comforted her with threats of "I'll warm your bottom"; "I'll turn you over to your dad"; "I'll lock you in the truck"; "I'll send for the bogey man" — all of which Darleen ignored […]"

  6. 11
    To scold or abuse verbally. colloquial, transitive
  7. 12
    To prepopulate (a cache) so that its contents are ready for other users. transitive
  8. 13
    To send electronic mail from (a domain) to improve its reputation for mail sending. Internet, transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a somewhat high temperature, often but not always connoting that the high temperature is pleasant rather than uncomfortable.

    "The tea is still warm."

  2. 2
    Friendly and with affection.

    "We have a warm friendship."

  3. 3
    Having a color in the part of the visible electromagnetic spectrum between red and yellow-green.
  4. 4
    Close to a goal or correct answer. informal

    "Earlier you were way off, but now you're getting warmer."

  5. 5
    Fresh, of a scent; still able to be traced.
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Communicating a sense of comfort, ease, or pleasantness. figuratively

    "a warm piano sound"

  2. 7
    Ardent, zealous. archaic

    "a warm debate, with strong words exchanged"

  3. 8
    Well off as to property, or in good circumstances; prosperous. dated, informal

    "You shall have a draught upon him, payable at sight: and let me tell you he is as warm a man as any within five miles round him."

  4. 9
    Requiring arduous effort. archaic

    "The circular iron platform over there is used in the task of tyring the wheels, a warm job, too, by the way."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of a seeker; near to the object sought wordnet
  2. 2
    uncomfortable because of possible danger or trouble wordnet
  3. 3
    characterized by liveliness or excitement or disagreement wordnet
  4. 4
    characterized by strong enthusiasm wordnet
  5. 5
    easily aroused or excited wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    freshly made or left wordnet
  2. 7
    having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat wordnet
  3. 8
    psychologically warm; friendly and responsive wordnet
  4. 9
    inducing the impression of warmth; used especially of reds and oranges and yellows when referring to color wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    in a warm manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abandonedablazeabounding in richesaestivalaffableaffectionate

Example

"You're starting to warm up now."

Common questions

What does "warm" mean?

The act of warming, or the state of being warmed; a heating.

What is a synonym for "warm"?

Common synonyms include: abandoned, ablaze, abounding in riches, aestival, affable, affectionate.

How do you use "warm" in a sentence?

You're starting to warm up now.

How do you pronounce "warm"?

Pronounced /wɔːm/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English warm, werm, from Old English wearm, from Proto-West Germanic *warm, from Proto-Germanic *warmaz, either from Proto-Indo-European *wór-mo-s, from *wer- (“to burn”), or Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰor-mo-s, from the root *gʷʰer- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with West Frisian waarm, Saterland Frisian woorm, Dutch warm, German warm, Swedish varm, Icelandic varmur, Ancient Greek θερμός (thermós) (in which case perhaps a distant doublet of thermos), Latin formus, Sanskrit घर्म (gharmá), or alternatively from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to burn”), related to Hittite 𒉿𒊏𒀀𒉌 (warāni, “to burn”), Armenian վառել (vaṙel, “to burn, heat, warm”), Old Church Slavonic варити (variti, “to cook, boil”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English warmen, wermen, wyrmen, from Old English wierman (“to make warm”) and wearmian (“to become warm”), from Proto-West Germanic *warmijan and *warmōn. Cognate with Dutch warmen, German wärmen, Swedish värma.

More for "warm"

Synonyms

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