low-calorie

low-calorie — adjective

1. describes food or drink that has fewer units of energy than the normal or standa

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

describes food or drink that has fewer units of energy than the normal or standard type of that product, often chosen by people who want to eat more healthily or lose weight

Example

Aiko drinks low-calorie soda because she is watching her sugar intake.

The local café now offers a low-calorie breakfast bowl with fresh fruit.

attributive use before a noun phrase

Common collocations
  • dressing
  • yogurt
  • soda
  • snack
  • meal
  • soup
  • cereal
  • pasta
  • option
  • version
  • alternative
  • recipe
  • crackers
Synonyms
  • diet

    common on product labels but less precise; 'diet soda' may use artificial sweeteners without being low in calories

  • reduced-calorie

    more technical; often implies the product has at least 25% fewer calories than the standard version

  • light

    can mean less fat, sugar, alcohol or calories depending on the product; check labels carefully

Antonyms

Usage Note

Typically used to describe foods and drinks, not activities or non-edible items. Often appears before a noun as a compound adjective requiring a hyphen (e.g. low-calorie meal).

Common Mistakes

I want a low calorie yogurt.
I want a low-calorie yogurt.
When placed before a noun as a compound modifier, 'low-calorie' must include a hyphen.

Word family

  • calorie
    nounA2
  • caloric
    adjectiveC1
  • low-fat
    adjectiveB1
  • reduced-calorie
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These terms all describe food and drink with a reduced energy content. Low-calorie is the most neutral and precise label, used on official nutrition panels. Diet is a marketing term common on sodas and snacks that use artificial sweeteners, but a diet product may still have a similar calorie count to the regular version. Light can mean lower in fat, sugar, alcohol, or calories depending on the country and product — it is the vaguest of the group. Low-fat refers specifically to fat content rather than calories, and some low-fat items actually add sugar to improve taste, keeping the calorie count high. Reduced-calorie is a regulated term in many markets, typically requiring at least 25% fewer calories than the standard version. For example, light mayonnaise may have less fat but the same number of calories as regular mayonnaise, whereas reduced-calorie mayonnaise must contain measurably fewer calories by law.

low-calorie ↗diet ↗light ↗low-fat ↗reduced-calorie

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • low-calorie diet
  • low-calorie option
  • low-calorie version

Etymology

Old EnglishFrenchLatin

Formed by combining the English adjective low (from Old English lāh, meaning 'not high' or 'below average') with the word calorie (from French calorie, based on Latin calor meaning 'heat'). The compound came into everyday use in the mid-20th century when food manufacturers began producing products with reduced energy content for people managing their weight or health conditions.