endothermic
Americanadjective
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Chemistry. noting or pertaining to a chemical change that is accompanied by an absorption of heat (opposed to exothermic).
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Zoology. warm-blooded.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of endothermic
Compare meaning
How does endothermic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An endothermic reaction is one that absorbs or uses heat energy. Just ask a melting snowman about it. What do green leaves, boiled eggs, and split gas molecules have in common? They have all undergone endothermic reactions, absorbing heat. But just because there’s heat involved doesn’t mean an endothermic reaction is the cause. Its polar — er thermal — opposite, exothermic describes a reaction that makes or gives off heat. It can be easy to confuse the two, but if you can remember that endo means “in” and exo means "out," the heat might not get to you so much.
Vocabulary lists containing endothermic
Chemistry - High School
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The ACT Science Test: Physics Review
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Chemistry: Chemical Reactions
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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.
On the other hand, being endothermic could have also contributed to megalodon's extinction, since constantly regulating body temperature like this would have expended more energy and thus required more food.
From Salon ● Mar. 10, 2025
A reaction or change that absorbs heat is an endothermic process.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Additional heat would shift an exothermic reaction back to the reactants but would shift an endothermic reaction to the products.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
However, given that modern birds are endothermic, the dinosaurs that served as ancestors to birds likely were endothermic as well.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Physical structure alone can be the cause of a relative endothermic state, as in the glass bulbs known as Rupert’s drops, &c. , or even in chilled steel.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 1 "Evangelical Church Conference" to "Fairbairn, Sir William" by Various
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.
