Meaning & use
endotherm
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Meaning
nouncountablebiologytechnical
An animal whose body makes its own heat and keeps its temperature steady, as birds and mammals do.
Grammar: A scientific noun: an endotherm keeps its own temperature, unlike an ectotherm.
Patterns
- an endotherm such as something
Birds and mammals are endotherms that produce their own body heat.
As an endotherm, the fox stays active in cold weather.
Being an endotherm requires lots of food energy.
Word forms
| plural | endotherms |
|---|
Common combinations
- warm-blooded endotherm
- The shrew is a tiny warm-blooded endotherm that eats constantly.
- endotherm and ectotherm
- The lesson compared an endotherm and an ectotherm.
- true endotherm
- Birds are true endotherms.
- endotherm energy needs
- Endotherm energy needs are high, so small mammals must eat often.
- large endotherm
- The whale is a large endotherm living in cold water.
Synonyms and how they differ
- warm-blooded animal
- Warm-blooded animal is the everyday term, while endotherm is the exact scientific word and avoids the false suggestion about the blood.
- homeotherm
- Homeotherm stresses holding a steady temperature, while endotherm stresses making the heat internally, and the groups overlap.
- mammal
- Mammal is a specific group, whereas endotherms also include birds.
Opposites
Word family
- endothermic adjective
- producing heat inside the body
- endothermy noun
- the ability to produce body heat internally
- ectotherm noun
- an animal that depends on outside heat
- thermal adjective
- relating to heat
Commonly confused: endotherm or endothermic?
endotherm vs endothermic
Endothermic also describes chemical reactions that absorb heat, so context matters; an endotherm is always an animal.
Practice
Which of these animals is an endotherm?
Choose one answer.
A sparrow is a bird and makes its own body heat. Snakes, frogs and lizards are ectotherms and rely on outside heat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “endotherm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.