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
The fat around the tummy caused by these calorific foods combined with a sedentary lifestyle is also linked to high blood pressure, in addition to inflammation of the blood vessels and diabetes.
From Salon ● Jan. 22, 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
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was calorific.
From New York Times ● May 7, 2023
The calorific value of the gas should be measured either by the Witz apparatus or by means of any other calorimeter.
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
