small calorien. See calorie.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.small calorie n (Units) another name for calorie Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014cal?o?rie or cal?o?ry (?kæl ? ri) n., pl. -ries. 1. a. Also called gram calorie, small calorie. an amount of heat exactly equal to 4.1840 joules.Abbr.: cal b. (usu. cap.) kilocalorie. Abbr.: Cal 2. a. a unit equal to the kilocalorie, expressing the heat output of an organism and the energy value of food. b. a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy. [1800?10;