cookverb
uk/kʊk/us/kʊk/A1 [ I or T ] When you cook food, you prepare it to be eaten by heating it in a particular way, such as baking or boiling, and when food cooks, it is heated until it is ready to eat:
I don't cook meat very often.
[ + two objects ] He cooked us a huge dinner./He cooked a huge dinner for us.
Let the fish cook for half an hour before you add the wine.
More examples
- Don't cook vegetables for too long - they'll lose all their goodness.
- Wrap the chicken in foil and cook it for two hours.
- Vicky cooks really well but she's rather messy.
- Do you prefer cooking with electricity or gas?
- I'm a terrible cook - nothing I try to make turns out the way it's supposed to.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Preparing food using heat
- bake
- barbecue
- baste
- batch-bake
- boil sth up
- boiled
- curry
- flash-fry
- fried
- frizzled
- fry
- grilled
- microwave
- preheat
- render
- render sth down
- rendering
- sauté
- shallow-fry
- simmer
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Idiom(s)
be cooking
cook sb's goose
cook the books
what's cooking?
Phrasal verb(s)
cook sth up
cooknoun [ C ]
uk/kʊk/us/kʊk/A2 someone who prepares and cooks food:
She's a wonderful cook.
More examples
- He's intelligent, witty, a loving husband, and an excellent cook into the bargain.
- The cook brought in a fresh batch of homemade cakes.
- Alex is one of the best cooks I know - he could really be a professional.
- I'll ask the cook to do rib of lamb for Sunday lunch.
- This is the cook's night off, so we're just having cold meat and salad.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
People who make & serve food
- baker
- barista
- butcher
- carhop
- catering
- chef
- garçon
- maître d'
- room service
- short-order cook
- steward
- waiter
- waitress
Idiom(s)
too many cooks spoil the broth