warp

[ wawrp ]

/ wɔrp /

verb (used with object)

to bend or twist out of shape, especially from a straight or flat form, as timbers or flooring.

to bend or turn from the natural or true direction or course.

to distort or cause to distort from the truth, fact, true meaning, etc.; bias; falsify: Prejudice warps the mind.

Aeronautics. to curve or bend (a wing or other airfoil) at the end or ends to promote equilibrium or to secure lateral control.

Nautical. to move (a vessel) into a desired place or position by hauling on a rope that has been fastened to something fixed, as a buoy or anchor.

Agriculture. to fertilize (land) by inundation with water that deposits alluvial matter.

verb (used without object)

to become bent or twisted out of shape, especially out of a straight or flat form: The wood has warped in drying.

to be or become biased; hold or change an opinion due to prejudice, external influence, or the like.

Nautical.

to warp a ship or boat into position.
(of a ship or boat) to move by being warped.

(of a stratum in the earth's crust) to bend slightly, to a degree that no fold or fault results.

noun

a bend, twist, or variation from a straight or flat form in something, as in wood that has dried unevenly.

a mental twist, bias, or quirk, or a biased or twisted attitude or judgment.

the set of yarns placed lengthwise in the loom, crossed by and interlaced with the weft, and forming the lengthwise threads in a woven fabric.

time warp.

a situation, environment, etc., that seems characteristic of another era, especially in being out of touch with contemporary life or attitudes, etc.

Also called spring, spring line. Nautical. a rope for warping or hauling a ship or boat along or into position.

alluvial matter deposited by water, especially water let in to inundate low land so as to enrich it.

Nearby words

warner, warner robins, warning, warning coloration, warning track, warp, warp and woof, warp beam, warp ikat, warp knit, warp knitting

Origin of warp

before 900; (v.) Middle English werpen, Old English weorpan to throw; cognate with German werfen, Old Norse verpa, Gothic wairpan; (noun) Middle English warpe, Old English wearp; cognate with German Warf, Old Norse varp

SYNONYMS FOR warp

1 turn, contort, distort.

2 swerve, deviate.

ANTONYMS FOR warp

1, 7 straighten.

Related forms

warp·age, nounun·warp·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for warping

The warping which is practised in England is almost exclusively confined to Warping.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 7|Various
But in their early gliders this warping process acted in an unexpected way.
The War in the Air; Vol. 1|Walter Raleigh.
These final operations are performed by the warping and dressing machines.
Inventions in the Century|William Henry Doolittle
A rod, connecting a warping lever with the right wing of the monoplane, snapped with a sharp crack.
The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship|Margaret Burnham

But before steam was up the channel opened so much that we succeeded in warping the ship through the narrowest passage.
Farthest North|Fridtjof Nansen

British Dictionary definitions for warping

warp

/ (wɔːp) /

verb

to twist or cause to twist out of shape, as from heat, damp, etc

to turn or cause to turn from a true, correct, or proper course

to pervert or be perverted

(tr) to prepare (yarn) as a warp

nautical to move (a vessel) by hauling on a rope fixed to a stationary object ashore or (of a vessel) to be moved thus

(tr) (formerly) to curve or twist (an aircraft wing) in order to assist control in flight

(tr) to flood (land) with water from which alluvial matter is deposited

noun

the state or condition of being twisted out of shape

a twist, distortion, or bias

a mental or moral deviation

the yarns arranged lengthways on a loom, forming the threads through which the weft yarns are woven

the heavy threads used to reinforce the rubber in the casing of a pneumatic tyre

nautical a rope used for warping a vessel

alluvial sediment deposited by water

Derived Forms

warpage, nounwarped, adjectivewarper, noun

Word Origin for warp

Old English wearp a throw; related to Old High German warf, Old Norse varp throw of a dragging net, Old English weorpan to throw

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

Idioms and Phrases with warping

warp

In addition to the idiom beginning with warp

warp and woof

also see:

time warp

warp

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of warp

SYNONYMS FOR warp

ANTONYMS FOR warp

Related forms

Examples from the Web for warping

British Dictionary definitions for warping

warp

verb

noun

Derived Forms

Word Origin for warp

Idioms and Phrases with warping

warp