• Kilocalorie

    Full definition of kilocalorie

    Noun

    kilocalorie

    (plural kilocalories)
    1. a non-SI unit of energy equal to 1,000 calories, used (now rare) in chemistry or physics; equal to 1 calorie or Calorie as used in nutrition. Symbol kcal.

    Usage notes

    This prefix kilo- is generally applied to the small calorie, and not to the large calorie used in nutrition, to avoid confusion because 1,000 food calories would be 1,000,000 small calories.

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