warm up

Both

Sense-dependent: some meanings take an object and split, others take none. Check the sense you mean.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: warm UP. Saying “WARM up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /m/ of “warm” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “warm up” is said “war-mup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

Verb vs noun

As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is warm UP, the noun is WARM-UP. Same two words, different beat — “to warm UP” is the action, “a warm-up” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.

3 meanings

1
To prepare your body with light exercise before activity.
- “Warm up properly or you'll pull something.”
- “Singers warm up their voices before a performance.”
Similar: limber up
2
To reheat food, or to become warmer.
- “I'll warm up the soup.”
Similar: reheat
3
To become friendlier.
- “She warmed up once the conversation moved off work.”
Similar: thaw

The particle logic

Something is finished, raised, improved, or brought together.

Listen + practice

Hear “warm up” spoken naturally

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Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

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warm up — meaning, examples & how to say it