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

Some foods contain harmful additives and ingredients toxic to birds, while others provide empty calories that don't properly nourish them. —Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 6 Jan. 2026

Still, swapping empty calories for real artistic fuel (something the film industry desperately needs right now), Blumhouse’s fine-enough follow-up to its hit adaptation from 2023 looks and feels like a kind of imitation cheese. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2025

But while states move to stop subsidizing empty calories, another, more constructive step deserves attention: expanding SNAP to include essential vitamins — particularly multivitamins and prenatal supplements that help close nutritional gaps for families most at risk. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 17 Nov. 2025

While a visual feast that gives some of its stars a chance to have fun, the show is empty calories. —Tom Smyth, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for empty calories

• kilocalories
• galleries
• salaries