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• calorie
  calorie

  noun
• Calorie
  Calorie

  noun

  a unit of heat, equal to one thousand calories, often used to express the heat output of an organism or the energy value of food

calorie

American  

[kal-uh-ree] / ˈkæl ə ri /

Sometimes calory

noun

calories plural

1. Thermodynamics.

   1. Also called gram calorie, small calorie.  an amount of heat exactly equal to 4.1840 joules. cal

   2. (usually initial capital letter) kilocalorie. Cal

2. Physiology.

   1. a unit equal to the kilocalorie, used to express the heat output of an organism and the fuel or energy value of food.

   2. a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy.

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Calorie ¹ British  

/ ˈkælərɪ /

noun

1.  Cal.  Also called: kilogram calorie.   kilocalorie.   large calorie.  a unit of heat, equal to one thousand calories, often used to express the heat output of an organism or the energy value of food

2. the amount of a specific food capable of producing one thousand calories of energy

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calorie ² British  

/ ˈkælərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: gram calorie.   small calorie.   cal.  a unit of heat, equal to 4.1868 joules ( International Table calorie ): formerly defined as the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C under standard conditions. It has now largely been replaced by the joule for scientific purposes Compare Calorie

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calorie Scientific  

/ kăl′ə-rē /

1. A unit of energy equal to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. One calorie is equivalent to 4.1868 joules.

2. Also called small calorie

3. Calorie A unit of heat equal to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1,000 grams of water by one degree Celsius. This unit is used as a measure of the energy released by food as it is digested by the human body.

4. Also called kilocalorie large calorie

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Calorie Cultural  

1. The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. A calorie (with a lower-case c) is a measurement of the heat needed to raise the temperature of a gram of water, rather than a kilogram.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• calories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of calorie

First recorded in 1800–10; from French, equivalent to calor- (from Latin calor “heat”) + -ie noun suffix; see -y ³

Explanation

A calorie is the energy that it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. More importantly, a calorie is a unit that you can use to measure the energy in your food. From the Latin calor, “to heat,” a calorie is a measurement of heat energy (it may be called a small calorie or a large calorie). When you’re out of the chemistry lab, you’ll most often hear calorie in relation to the energy in food or the energy you burn through exercise. It will also usually be referred to in the plural, as calories. This makes sense: just one calorie won’t make any difference in what you weigh, but many calories will!

Example Sentences

Another 2024 clinical study compared intermittent fasting combined with protein pacing to continuous calorie restriction in adults with overweight or obesity.

From Science Daily • May 31, 2026

Peeling back the wrapping I'm holding a 1,000 calorie triple decker – three slices of bread with two layers of filling.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

Researchers believe this may be because factors such as calorie reduction have a stronger effect on short-term weight loss.

From Science Daily • May 11, 2026

It is seeing fast growth of 17% in what it calls its “balanced portfolio” of low carb, low calorie, sugar free, gluten free and no-alcohol beer brands.

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

If I ordered additional food on my own, it would increase the amount of exercise I had to do each day, to offset my additional calorie intake.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline