warp
/wɔːp
/verb
1Make or become bent or twisted out of shape, typically as a result of the effects of heat or damp: [with object]: moisture had warped the box [no object]: wood has a tendency to warp...
- The bag was beginning to lose its resistance, and so the box was a little warped where the damp had seeped through.
- Celluloid had some of the same disadvantages of tortoise shell: it had to be shaped by hand; it could be warped in heat, and so on.
- When it touched the feet of any demon, its body began to warp, twist into odd shapes, and then after a few moments it exploded, sending bloody chunks of flesh in all directions.
Synonyms
buckle, twist, bend, distort, deform, misshape, malform, curve, make/become crooked/curved, flex, bow, arch, contort, gnarl, kink, wrinkle
1.1 [with object] Make abnormal or strange; distort: your judgement has been warped by your obvious dislike of him (as adjective warped) a warped sense of humour...
- It seems they have a strangely warped sense of what they think is funny as well.
- Well, you know, John has a very warped sense of humor, and we're old buddies.
- Something amusing I thought of this morning though - I dare say other people have the same warped sense of humour I do and thought of it as well.
Synonyms
corrupt, twist, pervert, deprave, bend, skew
2(With reference to a ship) move or be moved along by hauling on a rope attached to a stationary object ashore: [with object and adverbial of direction]: crew and passengers helped warp the vessels through the shallow section
3 [with object] (In weaving) arrange (yarn) so as to form the warp of a piece of cloth: cotton string will be warped on the loom in the rug-weaving process
4 [with object] Cover (land) with a deposit of alluvial soil by natural or artificial flooding: the main canal may be cut so as to warp the lands on each side of it
noun
1A twist or distortion in the shape of something: the head of the racket had a curious warp...
- Everybody sees through their warp, through their bias, through their pretensions, through their needs all of that.
1.1 [as modifier] Relating to or denoting (fictional or hypothetical) space travel by means of distorting space-time: warp speed...
- Its benefits included intergalactic space travel at warp speed.
- My nan had one of those salad spinners, which sent leaves hurtling through space at warp speed and produced enough water to irrigate a smallholding.
- Those are in normal space not warp space engines.
1.2An abnormality or perversion in a person’s character: no mind is more capable of warps than his
2 [in singular] (In weaving) the threads on a loom over and under which other threads (the weft) are passed to make cloth: the warp and weft are the basic constituents of all textiles figurative rugby is woven into the warp and weft of South African society...
- It would be a cunning weave - the warp and the weft so utterly tangled that the thugs set loose on the streets would flail themselves.
- Such is his passion for the warp and weft, weave and print, and all things textile, that designer Mukesh is a veritable encyclopaedia of the rich and varied textile traditions of India.
- The jali normally worked by tearing apart the warp and weft threads of the cloth and by preparing minute button hole stitches.
3A rope attached at one end to a fixed point and used for moving or mooring a ship.
4 [mass noun] archaic Alluvial sediment; silt: the warp or muddy deposit dug from an old riverbed
Derivatives
warpage
- A low moisture content translates into a material that is very stable after installation - no warpage or excessive movement - and one that promotes excellent paint adhesion.
- This warpage can be removed by gentle heating (usually with steam from a kettle or similar) and carefully bent back to straightness.
- Although the wood is sealed, water or even excessive dampness may cause warpage or discoloration of the slats.
warper
- June's friend retired from Harris Plant as a cloth warper.
- Mr Clark, now 73, worked as a plumber and Mrs Clark, 69, as a warper at a textiles firm.
- Ellen Conroy (probably their daughter) - a silk warper who died at the age of 35 in 1863.
Origin
Old English weorpan (verb), wearp (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch werpen and German werfen 'to throw'. Early verb senses included 'throw' and 'hit with a missile'; the sense 'bend' dates from late Middle English. The noun was originally a term in weaving (see sense 2 of the noun).
This is from a Germanic source with a basic sense of ‘to throw, twist’. Early verb senses included ‘throw’, ‘fling open’, and ‘hit (with a missile)’; the sense ‘bend’ dates from late Middle English. The noun was originally a term in weaving, reflecting the way threads go backwards and forwards.