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What Do torrid and Toast Have in Common?
Hot, steamy, sultry: English is full of words that do double-duty in describing thirst traps both literal (as in the tropics) and figurative (as in, well, thirst traps). Torrid comes from the Latin verb torrēre, which means “to burn” or “to parch” and is an ancestor of our word toast. (Despite its dry implications, torrēre is also an ancestor of torrent, as in “a torrent of rain.”) Torrid first appeared in English in the 16th century and was originally used to describe something burned or scorched by exposure to the sun, but it has since taken on an extended meaning similar to the “sexy” sense of hot: “showing fiery passion,” as in “torrid love letters” or “a torrid affair.”
Examples of torrid in a Sentence
Royston Wild, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
The 44-year-old mainstay has enjoyed a torrid start to 2025 with four top-five starts, winning at Darlington last time out and at Martinsville on March 30.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
Perez maintained her torrid start to the season Tuesday night, scoring two goals and adding two assists for the Blackhawks in a 9-0 victory over Illinois Math & Science Academy.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 10 Apr. 2025
Pete Alonso continued his torrid start Tuesday afternoon, producing two hits and four RBIs for the surging New York Mets in a 10-5 win over the visiting Miami Marlins in the middle game of a three-game series.
—Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for torrid
Cite this Entry
“Torrid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torrid. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
from Latin torridus "dried or burnt by heat, torrid," derived from torrēre "to heat so as to dry up or burn" — related to torrent
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