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 It has now largely been replaced by the joule for scientific purposes Compare Calorie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

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

Each participant received guidance to cut daily calorie intake by 500 calories.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

It found one in 10 videos recommended by YouTube's Up Next algorithm featured thinspiration, extreme calorie restriction or other harmful material, although the situation had improved over the past two years.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

“Consumers are changing their expectations on every calorie they put in their body.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Consumers are changing their expectations on every calorie they put in their body.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

For sure that’s the direction the calorie count is going.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

"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 consumption went from 1,800 to 500 kilocalories per person per day from May 1944 to February 1945.

From Salon ● May 4, 2023

Calorie restriction “could enhance longevity in some people while shortening lifespan in others,” Kaeberlein wrote.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2021

Calorie for calorie, highly processed foods are three times cheaper than healthy food, the report found.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2021

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

Both groups were asked to cut their caloric intake by 500 calories a day.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

“I wouldn’t eat Monday or Tuesday, then on Wednesday I could get a pastry, and then my shot would start to wear off around Saturday, so I usually got some calories on Saturday and Sunday.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

They are commonly promoted as alternatives that provide sweetness with less sugar or fewer calories.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

And those diets are tailored by position since a midfielder, who may run more than seven miles in a match, burns more calories than a goalkeeper.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

On the beverage aisle, you can buy 875 calories of soda for a dollar.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan