warp: Meaning and Definition of

warp

Pronunciation: (wôrp), [key]
— v.t.
  1. to bend or twist out of shape, esp. from a straight or flat form, as timbers or flooring.
  2. to bend or turn from the natural or true direction or course.
  3. to distort or cause to distort from the truth, fact, true meaning, etc.; bias; falsify: Prejudice warps the mind.
  4. to curve or bend (a wing or other airfoil) at the end or ends to promote equilibrium or to secure lateral control.
  5. 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. to fertilize (land) by inundation with water that deposits alluvial matter.
—v.i.
  1. to become bent or twisted out of shape, esp. out of a straight or flat form: The wood has warped in drying.
  2. to be or become biased; hold or change an opinion due to prejudice, external influence, or the like.
    1. to warp a ship or boat into position.
    2. (of a ship or boat) to move by being warped.
  3. (of a stratum in the earth's crust) to bend slightly, to a degree that no fold or fault results.
—n.
  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. See diag. under
  4. See
  5. a situation, environment, etc., that seems characteristic of another era, esp. in being out of touch with contemporary life or attitudes, etc.
  6. Also calleda rope for warping or hauling a ship or boat along or into position.
  7. alluvial matter deposited by water, esp. water let in to inundate low land so as to enrich it.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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