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.
That’s warp speed compared with how long it takes to turn nuclear-reactor blueprints into power plants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Its push for warp speed progress stretches from the wealthy tech hubs on China’s coast to remote outposts a thousand miles inland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
“We are now at warp speed with FEMA,” one city official wrote in an email.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2025
Otherwise, it’s just another rung in a ladder he’ll continue climbing at warp speed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
Both of them are twisting and hopping and trying to shield their heads with their arms as more bits and pieces of fallen sky race through the air at warp speed.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
