warp speed
Americannoun
Usage
What does warp speed mean? Warp speed is an extremely fast speed. In science fiction stories, especially in the Star Trek universe, warp speed refers to a hypothetical speed faster than the speed of light that can be achieved by spaceships like the USS Enterprise. This use became popular enough to enter the language as a general term for a really, really fast speed. It’s typically used in exaggerations about how fast something is moving or how fast an action is performed. Example: My kids usually drag their feet when I ask them to do their chores, but they start working at warp speed if I promise them pizza.
Etymology
Origin of warp speed
Alluding to the use in science fiction of spatial or temporal warps to travel interstellar distances
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.
The pair are locked in a warp-speed race to build the future of human technology, and they’re starting to generate significant cash.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
Or does he go for a warp-speed selection that runs the legs off the Wallabies and prioritises a breakdown battle the Lions have struggled to master so far?
From BBC • Jul. 11, 2025
But there’s a surprise midway through: a hurtling drumbeat kicks in, and what had been a weightless drift is suddenly a warp-speed surge forward.
From New York Times • Jun. 24, 2022
Over the past decades, plastic use and waste surged as the UAE transformed at warp-speed from a parched desert pearling towns into a super-modern business hub known worldwide for its culture of consumerism.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2022
Her face is shiny and warm, but dotted with those same warp-speed darting eyes all the people here have.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
