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warm

American  
[wawrm] / wɔrm /

adjective

  • warmer,
    comparative
  • warmest
    superlative
  1. having or giving out a moderate degree of heat, as perceived by the senses.

    a warm bath.

    Synonyms:
    heated, tepid, lukewarm
    Antonyms:
    cool
  2. of or at a moderately high temperature; characterized by comparatively high temperature.

    a warm oven; a warm climate; a warm summer.

    Antonyms:
    cool
  3. having a sensation of bodily heat.

    to be warm from fast walking.

    Antonyms:
    cool
  4. conserving or maintaining warmth or heat.

    warm clothes.

  5. (of colors) suggestive of warmth; inclining toward red or orange rather than toward green or blue.

  6. characterized by or showing lively feelings, passions, emotions, sympathies, etc..

    a warm heart; warm interest.

    Synonyms:
    ardent, emotional, fervid, fervent, enthusiastic, hearty
  7. strongly attached; intimate.

    warm friends.

    Synonyms:
    close, friendly
  8. cordial or hearty.

    a warm welcome.

    Synonyms:
    fervent
    Antonyms:
    aloof, unfriendly
  9. heated, irritated, or angry.

    to become warm when contradicted.

    Synonyms:
    furious, irate, vexed, annoyed
  10. animated, lively, brisk, or vigorous.

    a warm debate.

    Synonyms:
    vehement
    Antonyms:
    boring, lethargic
  11. strong or fresh.

    a warm scent.

  12. close to something sought, as in a game.

  13. uncomfortable or unpleasant.

    His opponents made things so warm that he decided to quit.

  14. British Informal. well off; in easy circumstances.


verb (used with object)

  • warms,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • warmed,
    past participle,  past
  • warming
    present participle
  1. to make warm; heat (often followed byup ).

    to warm one's hands; to warm up a room.

  2. to heat or cook (something) for reuse, as leftovers (usually followed by over orup ).

    to warm up yesterday's stew.

  3. to excite enthusiasm, ardor, cheerfulness, or vitality in (someone).

    The wine soon warmed the company.

    Synonyms:
    arouse, rouse, stir, waken, excite, animate
  4. to inspire with kindly feeling; affect with lively pleasure.

    It warms my soul to hear you say that.

  5. to fill (a person, crowd, etc.) with strong feelings, as hatred, anger, or zeal.

    Restrictions had warmed the crew to the point of mutiny.

verb (used without object)

  • warms,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • warmed,
    past participle,  past
  • warming
    present participle
  1. to become warm or warmer (often followed byup ).

    The room will warm up when the fire gets going.

  2. to become ardent, enthusiastic, animated, etc. (often followed by up orto ).

    The speaker quickly warmed to her subject.

  3. to grow kindly, friendly, or sympathetically disposed (often followed by to ortoward ).

    My heart warms toward him.

noun

  1. Informal. a warming.

    Sit by the fire and have a nice warm.

verb phrase

  1. warm down. see warm-down.

  2. warm up. see warmup.

idioms

  1. warm the bench, to serve as a substitute who rarely plays in a game.

    The young outfielder warmed the bench for the Yankees last season.

warm British  
/ wɔːm /

adjective

  1. characterized by or having a moderate degree of heat; moderately hot

  2. maintaining or imparting heat

    a warm coat

  3. having or showing ready affection, kindliness, etc

    a warm personality

  4. lively, vigorous, or passionate

    a warm debate

  5. cordial or enthusiastic; ardent

    warm support

  6. quickly or easily aroused

    a warm temper

  7. (of colours) predominantly red or yellow in tone

  8. (of a scent, trail, etc) recently made; strong

  9. near to finding a hidden object or discovering or guessing facts, as in children's games

  10. informal uncomfortable or disagreeable, esp because of the proximity of danger

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (sometimes foll by up) to raise or be raised in temperature; make or become warm or warmer

  2. to make or become excited, enthusiastic, etc (about)

    he warmed to the idea of buying a new car

  3. to feel affection, kindness, etc (for someone)

    I warmed to her mother from the start

  4. (tr) to give a caning to

    I'll warm you in a minute

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. informal a warm place or area

    come into the warm

  2. informal the act or an instance of warming or being warmed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
warm More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing warm


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future


Etymology

Origin of warm

First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective werm, warm, wearm(e), Old English wearm; cognate with German warm, Old Norse varmr; akin to Latin formus “warm,” Greek thermós “warm,” Sanskrit gharmá- “heat,” Avestan garəma “hot,” Old Prussian gorme “heat,” Armenian ǰerm “warm”; the verb is akin to the adjective; the noun is derivative of the verb


Vocabulary lists containing warm

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

There was a stunning display of autumnal colours in 2025 after a warm and sunny summer, but how will this year's heat affect the seasonal display?

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Earnings at Mowi’s Canadian operations were wiped out last year after record warm seawater led to a “significant mortality incident.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The trade winds weaken and warm water is pushed back east toward the Americas.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

One offers the architectural pleasure of a crunchy tostada tucked inside a warm tortilla; the other, the satisfaction of having arranged to eat vegetables without chopping any.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

As she smiled, she tasted the distinct warm, soft sweetness of SJ’s frybread and couldn’t wait to return so that she could get more practice, company, and, of course, more food.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

However, this means there is a bigger distance and more time where storms can feed off the warmer waters, gaining energy to become more intense typhoons before they hit land.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Santa Anas typically arrive in the fall, and the next three months are likely to be warmer than normal across California, according to the latest seasonal outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

This has meant south or south-westerly winds bringing warmer than normal conditions and high pressure having more of an influence leading to reduced rainfall for many.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Together, these two effects help explain why warmer temperatures and reduced rainfall were associated with greater methane absorption in the forests studied.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

It’s overcast but warmer and less windy than it’s been the past couple of days.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Tuesday looks set to be the warmest day of the period and could reach 21C for some.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

But, it has still ended up being the joint fourth warmest on record.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Using this dataset, the temperature is currently running at 2.6C above average and is on track to be one of the warmest years on record.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The mountains and far interior could see an additional 3 to 6 degrees of warming Wednesday, and there’s a 40% chance the warmest valleys could reach triple digits Friday or Saturday, according to the forecast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Stupid, because even though it's the warmest part of the day and it's sunny, the temperature's only about 42 degrees.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

El Niño is a climate pattern that periodically warms the Pacific Ocean.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Thunderstorms are caused by what is known as convective activity, where moist air close to the ground warms rapidly and rises quickly.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

And the Hawk fire is the latest example of the growing threat of destructive urban conflagrations in these zones as the planet warms, vegetation dries out and wildfires become more destructive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

As the Arctic atmosphere warms, more sea ice melts.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

“It sticks to the bones and warms the soul.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in 2007 indicated that the asteroid's surface warmed and cooled rapidly as it rotated through sunlight and darkness.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

She questioned Nathan's initial decision to move to Russia but warmed to the idea because the couple lived "miles from any fighting".

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

As for that $18.49 squash sauce, I browned some Italian sausage, boiled pasta, warmed the sauce and put a Caesar salad and good focaccia on the table.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

In Burma, the revered revolutionary figure Aung San warmed to Imperial Japan because it had helped create the Burma Independence Army.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

She’s at the sink in the kitchen, my apron around her middle, washing the dishes in water she’s warmed on the stove.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Yet Adura's updated environmental impact assessment, ordered by the Court of Session, says that emissions from Jackdaw would "not materially influence" global warming.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

To get there, warming must peak around 1.8C by 2050 and vast amounts of carbon dioxide would have to be removed from the atmosphere to bring temperatures down further.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

In a speech to bankers, he said the Fed was “in the position of the chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, but microorganisms living in the soil can break it down before it builds up in the air.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

But instead of our parents’ pods, the room’s back wall is a stack of beehive beds, each covered in a warming blanket for a thin-skinned ghost shrimp.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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