calorie
Plural: calories
Noun
- A unit of energy, especially heat energy or food energy.
- a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure; used by nutritionists to characterize the energy-producing potential in food
- unit of heat defined as the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade at atmospheric pressure
- Kilogram calorie or large calorie. A unit of energy 1000 times larger than the gram calorie. It is equivalent to the gram kilocalorie, 4.184 kilojoules. This is the unit normally used in food labeling.
- The gram calorie or small calorie, a non-SI unit of energy, equivalent to 4.184 joules. This unit was formerly widely used in chemistry and physics, being the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C.
Examples
- Every high-scoring word felt like adding a CALORIE to her Scrabble victory diet.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from French calorie, formed from Latin calor. It was originally defined as the large calorie in the early 19th century, with the small calorie being defined some decades later.
Synonyms
gram calorie, kilocalorie, kilogram calorie, large calorie, nutritionist's calorie, small calorie, Calorie
Scrabble Score: 9
calorie: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordcalorie: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
calorie: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary