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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

warm.

Of a somewhat high temperature, often but not always connoting that the high temperature is pleasant rather than uncomfortable.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/wɔːm/Received-Pronunciation/waːm/Northumbria/wɔɹm/General-American
  1. Of a somewhat high temperature, often but not always connoting that the high temperature is pleasant rather than uncomfortable.

    The tea is still warm.
    This is a very warm room.
  2. Friendly and with affection.

    We have a warm friendship.
  3. Having a color in the part of the visible electromagnetic spectrum between red and yellow-green.

  4. Close to a goal or correct answer.

    informal
    Earlier you were way off, but now you're getting warmer.
  5. Fresh, of a scent; still able to be traced.

  6. Communicating a sense of comfort, ease, or pleasantness.

    figuratively
    a warm piano sound
  7. Ardent, zealous.

    archaic
    a warm debate, with strong words exchanged
  8. Well off as to property, or in good circumstances; prosperous.

    dated · informal
  9. Requiring arduous effort.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *warmaz Proto-West Germanic *warm Old English wearm Middle English warm English warm From Middle English warm, werm, from Old English wearm, from Proto-West Germanic *warm, from Proto-Germanic *warmaz, from one of: * Proto-Indo-European *wór-mo-s, from *wer- (“to burn”), which is related to Hittite 𒉿𒊏𒀀𒉌 (warāni, “to burn”), Armenian վառել (vaṙel, “to burn, heat, warm”), Old Church Slavonic варити (variti, “to cook, boil”). * Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰor-mo-s, from the root *gʷʰer- (“warm, hot”), in which case cognate with Ancient Greek θερμός (thermós) (making perhaps a distant doublet of thermos), Latin formus, Sanskrit घर्म (gharmá). In any case cognate within Germanic to West Frisian waarm, Saterland Frisian woorm, Dutch warm, German warm, Swedish varm, Icelandic varmur.

verb/wɔːm/Received-Pronunciation/waːm/Northumbria/wɔɹm/General-American
  1. To make or keep warm.

    transitive
  2. To become warm, to heat up.

    intransitive
    My socks are warming by the fire.
    The earth soon warms on a clear summer day.
  3. (sometimes in the form warm up) To favour increasingly.

    intransitive
    He is warming to the idea.
    Her classmates are gradually warming to her.
  4. To cause (someone) to favour (something) increasingly.

    ditransitive
  5. To become ardent or animated.

    intransitive
    The speaker warms as he proceeds.
  6. To make engaged or earnest; to interest; to engage; to excite ardor or zeal in; to enliven.

    transitive
  7. To give emotional warmth to a person.

    transitive
  8. To beat or spank.

    colloquial · transitive
  9. To scold or abuse verbally.

    colloquial · transitive
  10. To prepopulate (a cache) so that its contents are ready for other users.

    transitive
  11. To send electronic mail from (a domain) to improve its reputation for mail sending.

    Internet · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *warmaz Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *warmijaną Proto-West Germanic *warmijan Old English wierman Proto-West Germanic *warmōn Old English wearmian Middle English warmen English warm From Middle English warmen, wermen, wyrmen, from Old English wierman (“to make warm”) and wearmian (“to become warm”), from Proto-West Germanic *warmijan and *warmōn. Cognate with Dutch warmen, German wärmen, Swedish värma.

noun/wɔːm/Received-Pronunciation/waːm/Northumbria/wɔɹm/General-American
  1. The act of warming, or the state of being warmed; a heating.

    colloquial
    Shall I give your coffee a warm in the microwave?
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *warmaz Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *warmijaną Proto-West Germanic *warmijan Old English wierman Proto-West Germanic *warmōn Old English wearmian Middle English warmen English warm From Middle English warmen, wermen, wyrmen, from Old English wierman (“to make warm”) and wearmian (“to become warm”), from Proto-West Germanic *warmijan and *warmōn. Cognate with Dutch warmen, German wärmen, Swedish värma.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.