Meanings
plural gram calories · alternative UK gramme calorie
- The amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a gram of water by a degree centigrade: a unit of measure of energy.
Holonyms: kilogram calorie, kilocalorie, large calorie, Calorie (with a capital C), calorie (large-calorie sense) < megacalorie < gigacalorie
Synonyms: calorie, small calorie, thermochemical calorie
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a gram of water by a degree centigrade: a unit of measure of energy.
More synonyms by meaning
noununit 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
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Because a gram of water is the referent mass (versus a kilogram of water); see Calorie.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
gram calorie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gram%20calorie
“gram calorie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gram%20calorie. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gram calorie,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gram%20calorie.
Source: gram calorie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.