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empty calorie

American  

noun

  1. a calorie whose source has little or no nutritional value.

    Junk food has only empty calories.

Etymology

Origin of empty calorie

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Editorial standards for newsworthiness have loosed significantly, saturating audiences with empty calorie news - stories that have emotional appeal but are not particularly informative,” the authors wrote.

From Washington Times • Jul. 13, 2021

Both have been accused of putting up empty calorie stats for losing teams.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2021

Sugar is not just an empty calorie, he says; its effect on us is much more insidious.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2011

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.