warm-blooded

American  

[wawrm-bluhd-id] / ˈwɔrmˈblʌd ɪd /

adjective

1. Also designating or pertaining to animals, as mammals and birds, whose blood ranges in temperatures from about 98° to 112°F (37° to 44°C) and remains relatively constant, irrespective of the temperature of the surrounding medium; homoiothermal.

2. ardent, impetuous, or passionate.

   young and warm-blooded valor.

---

warm-blooded British  

adjective

1. ardent, impetuous, or passionate

2. Technical name: homoiothermic.  (of birds and mammals) having a constant body temperature, usually higher than the temperature of the surroundings

---

warm-blooded Scientific  

/ wôrm′blŭd′ĭd /

1. Having a relatively warm body temperature that stays about the same regardless of changes in the temperature of the surroundings. Birds and mammals are warm-blooded.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• warm-bloodedness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of warm-blooded

First recorded in 1785–95

Compare meaning

How does warm-blooded compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• warm-blooded vs. cold-blooded

Explanation

A warm-blooded animal can keep its body temperature higher (or lower) than the environment around it. Humans, crows, and cats are all warm-blooded; spiders, snakes, and goldfish are not. The more scientific term for a warm-blooded animal is an endotherm, or an animal that uses its metabolism to regulate its body temperature. If you take your temperature while standing in the snow, it will be nearly the same as when you're hanging out on the beach in the summer — because you're a warm-blooded endotherm. Animals that don't fall into this category, like reptiles and insects, are cold-blooded, also known as ectotherms.

Example Sentences

The flies lay their eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, where they hatch into larvae and feed on flesh.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

U.S. cattle ranchers and hog farmers have spent months bracing for the screwworm—which is spread by flies laying eggs in open wounds of warm-blooded animals—to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

The screwworm lays its eggs in open wounds on warm-blooded animals, including humans.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

Sounds like the makings of a joke, but when the waters start to rise, this simple, wordless tale deepens into a warm-blooded epic about teamwork and survival.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2025

It is a highly specific organism, attacking no other type of insects, harmless to earthworms, warm-blooded animals, and plants.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson