✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

endomorphic

adjective

en·​do·​mor·​phic ˌen-də-ˈmȯr-fik How to pronounce endomorphic (audio)
1
: of or relating to the component in W. H. Sheldon's classification of body types that measures the massiveness of the digestive viscera and the body's degree of roundedness and softness
2
: having a heavy rounded body build often with a marked tendency to become fat
endomorphy noun

Examples of endomorphic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For a mesomorphic body, rather than an endomorphic one like his. Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

endoderm + -morphic; from the predominance in such types of structures developed from the endoderm

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of endomorphic was in 1940

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Endomorphic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endomorphic. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.

Medical Definition

endomorphic

adjective
en·​do·​mor·​phic ˌen-də-ˈmȯr-fik How to pronounce endomorphic (audio)
1
: of or relating to the component in W. H. Sheldon's classification of body types that measures the degree to which the digestive viscera are massive and the body build rounded and soft compare ectomorphic sense 1, mesomorphic sense 2a
2
: having a heavy rounded body build often with a marked tendency to become overweight compare ectomorphic sense 2, mesomorphic sense 2b
endomorphy noun
plural endomorphies

More from Merriam-Webster on endomorphic

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!