empty calories

plural noun

: calories from food that supply energy but have little or no nutritional value

Examples of empty calories in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And Jerami Grant’s 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field may as well have been a donut: empty calories. Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 13 June 2024 Even with a candy song banging around in the skull, the treat’s word-play trail is the opposite of empty calories. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Ranging from a wall-size self-portrait in a spiky, silver wig to tiny images of fellow artists such as Donald Judd, they are instantly absorbed like sugary, empty calories. Victoria Dalkey, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 Only one of them appears to be an improvement though—the other two are empty calories. Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 See all Example Sentences for empty calories 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'empty calories.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of empty calories was in 1955

Dictionary Entries Near empty calories

Cite this Entry

“Empty calories.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empty%20calories. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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