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.

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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

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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.

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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

Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes of living warm-blooded animals and people.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

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

An infestation occurs when fly maggots infest the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, the CDC says.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2025

A Big Bang had occurred, originating at the bridge of her nose, and the force of this explosion had sent galaxies of freckles hurtling and drifting to every end of her curved, warm-blooded universe.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides