calorific
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of calorific
1675–85; < Late Latin calōrificus causing warmth, warming, equivalent to calōri- (stem of calor heat) + -ficus -fic
Explanation
Calorific is a good word for describing something that generates heat. A motorcycle race can be calorific in at least two ways: The engines get burning hot, and watching the race can make you burn with excitement. In today's diet-obsessed world, you'd be forgiven for thinking that calorific means "filled with calories." In fact, when you do something calorific you don't load up on calories; you get rid of them. Say you drink a bottle of soda and then jump on the treadmill. All those calories you just poured down your throat? You're burning them up, turning them into heat. Running is a calorific activity. And a sweaty one.
Vocabulary lists containing calorific
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 2
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2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (A-L)
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Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"This is highly calorific waste for generating gas."
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025
“From my point of view, however, meat was and is not necessarily nutritionally relevant. Proteins alone do not have a particularly high calorific value,” Kindler adds.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 25, 2023
"Trait impulsivity," the preference for immediate gratification, has been linked to spending more on food, especially unhealthy, highly calorific food.
From Salon ● Nov. 23, 2022
Last season, the Capitals debuted a calorific monster of a chicken sandwich with cinnamon rolls for buns during its home games in the NHL playoffs.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
He was fettered, however, by the prevailing calorific theories, and the unfortunate practice of grouping the phenomena into means for the seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, which grouping is arbitrary, and comparatively uninstructive.
From The Philosophy of the Weather And a Guide to Its Changes by Butler, Thomas Belden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
