kilocalorie

kilocalorie — noun

1. a unit used on food labels and diet plans to show the energy your body can get f

1.nounB2
Definition

a unit used on food labels and diet plans to show the energy your body can get from a food or drink

Example

Aaron checked how many kilocalories were in the bowl of noodles.

pattern: how many kilocalories are in [food]

This frozen meal has fewer kilocalories than the beef pasta.

comparison: fewer kilocalories than

Common collocations
  • count kilocalories
  • track kilocalories
  • extra kilocalories
  • kilocalories in a meal
  • daily kilocalories
Synonyms
  • calorie

    the everyday word most people use for this food-energy unit

  • Calorie

    the capitalized label sometimes used in nutrition writing for the same amount

Grammar Patterns

[food] contains [number] kilocalories

count/track kilocalories

Usage Note

In everyday diet talk, people often say calorie for this unit even when they technically mean kilocalorie. This sense is the one used for menus, nutrition apps, and food packaging.

Common Mistakes

This yogurt has 120 kilocalorie.
This yogurt has 120 kilocalories.
Use the plural form after numbers greater than one.

2. a scientific measure for heat or fuel energy; one unit has the same value as a t

2.nounC1
Definition

a scientific measure for heat or fuel energy; one unit has the same value as a thousand small calories

Example

The lab measured the fuel sample at 3,200 kilocalories per kilogram.

measurement: kilocalories per kilogram

Engineers compared how many kilocalories each heater produced in one hour.

Common collocations
  • kilocalories per kilogram
  • measure kilocalories
  • release kilocalories
  • fuel value in kilocalories
  • heat in kilocalories
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

[material] releases [number] kilocalories

[number] kilocalories per kilogram

Usage Note

Mainly used in scientific or engineering contexts, often with materials, fuel, or heating tests. Distinguish it from sense 1, which focuses on the energy value of food.

Common Mistakes

One kilocalorie equals 100 calories.
One kilocalorie equals 1,000 calories.
The prefix kilo- means one thousand, not one hundred.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

In everyday nutrition talk, calorie is the word people usually use for this sense, even when the technical unit is kilocalorie. On many food labels, Calorie with a capital C also means kilocalorie, so the three often point to the same amount of food energy. Joule and kilojoule are metric energy units used in science and on some food packaging outside the US, but they are less familiar to many learners. Use kilocalorie when you want to be exact, especially in technical writing; use calorie when you are talking casually about diets or exercise. A trainer may say a snack has 200 calories, while a lab report may state that it provides 200 kilocalories.

calorie ↗Calorie ↗joule ↗kilojoule

Common collocations

Nouns

  • kilocalorie value
  • kilocalorie total
  • kilocalorie measurement

Phrases

  • measure energy in kilocalories
  • count kilocalories

Prepositions

  • kilocalories in a meal
  • kilocalories per kilogram

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

English formed kilocalorie by adding kilo-, from Greek words meaning thousand, to calorie. The second part came into English through French and goes back to Latin calor, meaning heat. The word therefore literally means a thousand-calorie heat unit.