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  calorie
• 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 It has now largely been replaced by the joule for scientific purposes Compare Calorie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

Noun Inflected Forms

• 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

See Examples For:

calorie Calorie calories

They work closely with a nutritionist to monitor their weight and calorie intake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

To test that idea, the researchers used a drug to inhibit C3 activation in mice, mimicking one of the effects of calorie restriction.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

That raised the possibility that some of the biological benefits of calorie restriction might be reproduced without requiring people to lose weight.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

People may also subconsciously move less throughout the rest of the day after doing a workout, which means exercise may have less impact on their overall calorie deficit.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026

Farming societies have, until very recently, relied for the great bulk of their calorie intake on a small variety of domesticated plants.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Like many millennial girls who came of age when diet culture was practically an extracurricular activity, I could mentally toggle between Weight Watchers points and the “Pocket Calorie Counter” with alarming fluency.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

"Calorie restriction does so many different things, and no one knows the precise way that it is extending lifespan," Dr. Tyler said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024

Calorie restriction also forces the body to rely on fuel sources other than glucose, which aging experts think is beneficial for metabolic health and, ultimately, longevity.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2024

Calorie content was only displayed on a fifth of the bottles analysed by the lab.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2022

His daughters would never have presented him with a copy of Calorie Counters, the 1-2-3 Way to an All-New You.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

“Carrying balances on those accounts is a flashing red light that changes need to be made to your budget. Don’t burn calories worrying about 3.75% vs. 4% when you are paying 20%.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

It increases resting energy expenditure so the body burns more calories, promotes liver fat breakdown and supports weight loss.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

In the Mediterranean group, 50% of calories came from carbohydrates and 35% from fat.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026

The plant-forward diet provided 70% of calories from carbohydrates and 15% from fat.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026

The thick seal fat that kept the animals warm would provide valuable calories in the men’s diets and keep them from freezing.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong