warp

[wawrp]

verb (used with object)

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

   Synonyms: distort, contort, turn
   Antonyms: straighten

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

   Synonyms: deviate, swerve

3. to distort or cause to distort from the truth, fact, true meaning, etc.; bias; incline.

   Prejudice warps the mind.

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

5. 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.

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

verb (used without object)

1. to become bent or twisted out of shape, especially out of a straight or flat form.

   The wood has warped in drying.

   Antonyms: straighten

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

3. Nautical.

   1. to warp a ship or boat into position.

   2. (of a ship or boat) to move by being warped.

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

noun

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

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

3. 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.

4. time warp.

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

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

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

warp

/ wɔːp /

verb

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

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

3. to pervert or be perverted

4. (tr) to prepare (yarn) as a warp

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

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

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

noun

1. the state or condition of being twisted out of shape

2. a twist, distortion, or bias

3. a mental or moral deviation

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

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

6. nautical a rope used for warping a vessel

7. alluvial sediment deposited by water

Other Word Forms

• warpage noun
• warper noun
• warped adjective
• unwarping adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of warp¹

First recorded before 900; (verb) 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of warp¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

• time warp

Example Sentences

Perched atop four active landslides, its pavement warped and cracked by constant land movement, Last Chance Grade is so unstable that it was reduced to one-way traffic for nine years straight, reopening in October 2023.

From Los Angeles Times

The songs were still comedic — “Everything I write winds up a little warped,” he says — but were original tunes that were pastiches of, say, Frank Zappa or They Might Be Giants’ style.

From Los Angeles Times

He told the court that the boy was significantly autistic and was vulnerable, and said the boy's actions were not preparation for violence, but the "expression of fantasy, a kind of warped self-care".

From BBC

In June, the Auschwitz Museum warned accounts like these were stealing its posts, processing them through AI models and often warping historical details or fabricating narratives and victims entirely.

From BBC

Baby boomers were charging through American society at warp speed, challenging the prevailing morals and mores — and terrifying large numbers of Americans, who felt that the fabric of the nation was unraveling.

From Salon

Related Words

• corrupt 
• pervert