Word.ws English Dictionary

cook

/kʊk/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Northern Ireland/kʉk/

cook noun: a person who prepares food.

cook: a person who prepares food
Image: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

cook (plural cooks)

  1. A person who prepares food.
    • I'm a terrible cook, so I eat a lot of frozen dinners.
    Synonyms:
    cooker
  2. The head cook of a manor house.
  3. The degree or quality of cookedness of food.
  4. The member of a hot-rivetting team who heats the rivets in a brazier, see rivet.
  5. (slang) One who manufactures certain illegal drugs, especially meth.
    • Police found two meth cooks working in the illicit lab.
    • By late October, the pressure on the Dark Arrows' ecstasy cook had eased. Other suppliers had moved in with product.2008, Mel Bradshaw, Victim Impact
  6. (slang) A session of manufacturing certain illegal drugs, especially meth.
    • Punko told Plante he wanted to use a full barrel for the next cook.2011, Neal Hall, Hell To Pay: Hells Angels vs. The Million-Dollar Rat, page 36
  7. A fish, the European striped wrasse, Labrus mixtus.
  8. An unintended solution to a chess problem, considered to spoil the problem.
    • The original endgame was one file to the right (Kf1, Kb5 etc.). But there is a cook after 1. c6 dxc6 2. d6 cxd6 3. h4 gxh3 e.p. 4. gxh3 Ka4! 5. h4 b5. My version eliminates the cook.2003 June, Pal Benko, “Endgame Lab”, in Chess Life, volume 58, number 6, New Windsor, N.Y.: United States Chess Federation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 49

Verb (1)

cook (third-person singular simple present cooks, present participle cooking, simple past cooked, past participle cooked or (rare, nonstandard) cooken)

  1. (ambitransitive, generally) To prepare food for eating, typically by heating it, combining it with other ingredients, seasoning it, preparing it for serving, etc.
    • I'm cooking bangers and mash.
    • He's in the kitchen, cooking.
  2. (specifically, transitive) To apply heat to food in the course of preparing it, particularly in a way that transforms it rather than simply making it warmer.
    • You could just use ordinary shop-bought kecap manis to marinade the meat, but making your own is easy, has a far more elegant fragrance and is, above all, such a great brag! Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with...2015 October 27, Matt Preston, The Simple Secrets to Cooking Everything Better, Plum, →ISBN, page 192
  3. (intransitive) To undergo cooking.
    • The dinner is cooking on the stove.
  4. (transitive) To smelt.
    • Your suggestion makes sense. You cook iron with coal to get... iron. The coal is expended, where does it go? inside the iron to turn it into steel in real life. I approve2011 February 10, Oventoaster, “Iron items to Steel”, in Minecraft Forum
  5. (figuratively, intransitive) To be uncomfortably hot.
    • Look at that poor dog shut up in that car on a day like today - it must be cooking in there.
    Synonyms:
    bake, stew
  6. (slang, transitive) To kill, destroy, or otherwise render useless or inoperative through exposure to excessive heat or radiation.
    • You would die from what we might call "extremely acute radiation poisoning" – that is, you would be cooked.2014, Randall Munroe, “Periodic Wall of the Elements”, in What If?, New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 41
    • "What's coming?" "Dunno yet. Cindy! Active scanning! Pulse hard, but don't cook any friendlies." "We have sensors that can cook people?" "Another reason why warship combat is not an indoor sport."2017 July 6, Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2024
  7. (slang, transitive) To execute by electric chair.
    Synonyms:
    fry
  8. (slang, transitive) To hold on to a grenade briefly after igniting the fuse, so that it explodes almost immediately after being thrown.
    • I always cook my frags, in case they try to grab one and throw it back.
    Synonyms:
    cook off
  9. To concoct or prepare.
    • My brother was locked up for cooking meth in his basement.
    • Jesse, we need to cook.
  10. (slang, transitive) To tamper with or alter; to cook up.
    • They all of them receive the same advices from abroad, and very often in the same words; but their way of cooking it is so different, that there is no citizen, who has an eye to the public good, who can leave the coffee-house with peace of mind...1880, Joseph Addison with Richard John Green, “The newspaper”, in Essays of Joseph Addison, London: Roger de Coverly Club, page 154
    • So far as Pridger was concerned the game was up. He had cooked the buying, he had cooked the selling, he had systematically pillaged the stock.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries
  11. (intransitive, slang, jazz) To play or improvise in an inspired and rhythmically exciting way. (From 1930s jive talk.)
    • Watch this band: they cook!
    • Crank up the Coltrane and start cooking!
  12. (intransitive, slang) To play music vigorously.
    • On the Wagner piece, the orchestra was cooking!
    • The tempos were swift. The orchestra cooked, reading [conductor] Kahane's mind and swinging with him as one.2012, “Review: Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra won't stand still”, in Los Angeles Times
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (humorous, intransitive, slang) To proceed with some plan or course of action, or develop some train of thought towards its conclusion (whether this is advantageous, or comical, or digging into a hole).
    • Hol' up, let that boy cook!
    • OK, who let him cook?
    1. (humorous, intransitive, slang) To proceed with some advantageous course of action; (more generally) to be successful.
      • We had to deal with some problems at first, but now we're cooking.
      • My bar was built by Frazier, Gary Manson, Robert Feck, Jeff Picoli — that's who built my bar. When I hired those people, that's when my bar started cookin'. 'Cause Frazier gets along with anybody — he has a magnetic personality, and he can make the worst piece of shit feel like king for a day.1977 August 27, Steve Savage, Susan "Suki" Eagan, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Suki, But Were Too Distracted In Chaps to Ask Her”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 8, page 9
    2. (Australia, derogatory, humorous, intransitive, slang) To develop insane or fringe ideas.
      • The furlough of workers during The Lockdowns left many with a conspiracy bent ample time to cook.
  2. (slang, transitive) To defeat or humiliate.
    • He didn't prepare for the debate at all, so his opponent cooked him hard.
    • You didn't have to cook him like that!
  3. (slang, transitive) To cause to be cooked, i.e. to put in a hopeless situation.
    • This new labor law is really cooking working-class people.
    • This assignment is cooking me big time.

Verb (2)

cook (third-person singular simple present cooks, present participle cooking, simple past and past participle cooked)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete, rare) To make the noise of the cuckoo.
    • Constant cuckoos cook on every side.1599, Thomas Moffet, The Silkwormes, and their Flies, London: V.S. for Nicholas Ling, →OCLC

Verb (3)

cook (third-person singular simple present cooks, present participle cooking, simple past and past participle cooked)

  1. (UK, dialectal, obsolete) To throw.
    • Cook. To throw. Cook me that ball, throw me that ball. Glou.1787, Francis Grose, A Provincial Glossary: With a Collection of Local Proverbs, and Popular Superstitions, London: Printed for S. Hooper, →OCLC, page 37

Proper noun capitalized: Cook

Cook (countable and uncountable, plural Cooks)

  1. (countable) An English surname originating as an occupation for a cook or seller of cooked food. Famously held by James Cook, English captain and explorer of the Pacific Ocean, and for whom the Cook Islands, Cook Strait and Mount Cook were named.
  2. A township in Sac County, Iowa.
  3. A township in Decatur County, Kansas.
  4. A minor city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota; named for railroad official Wirth Cook.
  5. A village in Johnson County, Nebraska; named for landowner Andrew Cook.
  6. An unincorporated community in Madison Township, Fayette County, Ohio; named for landowner Matthew S. Cook.
  7. A township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
  8. A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; named for James Cook.
  9. A local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia; in full, the Shire of Cook.
  10. A ghost town in South Australia, Australia; named for Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia.
  11. A river in Westland district, West Coast, New Zealand.
    Synonyms:
    Weheka
  12. An electoral division in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

cook meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

cook in Hindi

person who prepares food
रसोइया rasoiyā, बावर्ची bāvarcī
to prepare food for eating
पकाना pakānā

cook in Tamil

person who prepares food
கூவியர் kūviyar
to prepare food for eating
குய் kuy, சமை camai, பண்ணு paṇṇu, ஆக்கு ākku

cook in Marathi

to cook
रांधणे rāndhṇe
to cook, prepare food
शिजवणे śij̈avaṇe

cook in Urdu

person who prepares food
باوَرْچی bāvarcī, طَبّاخ tabbāx, آش پَز āś paz
to prepare food for eating
پکانا pakānā
More languagesFewer languages
cook in Bengali
রাঁধুনি rãdhuni
cook in Telugu
వంటమనిషి vaṇṭamaniṣi, వంటవాడు vaṇṭavāḍu, వండు vaṇḍu, ఉడుకు uḍuku
cook in Malayalam
പാകം ചെയ്യുന്നു pākaṁ ceyyunnu
cook in Kannada
ಅಟ್ಟುಳಿಗ, ಅಡಬಳ, ಅಡುಗೆಯವ, ಬಾಣಸಿಗ
cook in Punjabi
ਪਕਾਉਣਾ pakāuṇā, ਰਸੋਈਆ rasoīā, ਪੱਕਣਾ pakkaṇā, چاڑھنا cāṛhnā
cook in Gujarati
રાંધવું rā̃dhvũ
cook in Odia
ରାନ୍ଧିବା rāndhibā
cook in Sanskrit
पचति pacati, रन्धयति randhayati
cook in Assamese
ৰান্ধনি randhoni, চাংমাই saṅmai, বাবুৰ্চি babursi, ৰন্ধা rondha
cook in Nepali
पकाउनु pakāunu
cook in Pashto
آشپز āšpaz, اشپز ašpaz, بکاول bakāwəl, پخول pëxëwël
cook in Tagalog
kusinero, tagaluto, magluto, magkusi
cook in Arabic
طَبَّاخ ṭabbāḵ, طَبَّاخَة ṭabbāḵa, طَاهٍ ṭāhin, طَاهِيَة ṭāhiya
cook in Malay
tukang masak
cook in Indonesian
koki, masak
cook in Persian
آشْپَز āšpaz, پَزَنْدَه pazanda, طَبَّاخ tabbāx, پَزَنْدِه pazande
cook in Thai
กุ๊ก gúk, พ่อครัว pɔ̂ɔ-kruua, แม่ครัว mɛ̂ɛ-kruua, ปรุงอาหาร bprung aa-hăan
cook in Vietnamese
đầu bếp, nấu, nấu chín, nấu ăn
cook in Myanmar
ခန်တမာ hkanta.ma, ချက်ပြုတ် hkyakprut, ချက် hkyak
Kashmiri
وازٕ vāzụ, رَنُن ranun

Examples of cook in a sentence

  • Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf.2015 October 27, Matt Preston, The Simple Secrets to Cooking Everything Better, Plum, →ISBN, page 192:
  • The process of cooking meth can leave residue on surfaces all over the home, exposing all of its occupants to the drug.2006, Frank Spalding, Methamphetamine: The Dangers of Crystal Meth, page 47:
  • This album is called Cookin’ at Miles’ request.1957, Miles Davis quoted by Ira Gitler, liner notes to Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Prestige LP 7094
  • Bro is cooking and now he has added a goal to top it all off.2023 April 2, @WolfRMFC, Twitter, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2023:

All 40 example sentences with cook

Synonyms of cook

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of cook

Forms of cook

Noun
pluralcooks
Verb
third-person singular presentcooks
present participlecooking
pastcooked
past participlecooked
past participle (nonstandard, rare)cooken
second-person singular present (archaic)cookest
second-person singular past (archaic)cookedst
third-person singular present (archaic)cooketh

Past tense of cook: cooked

Plural of cook: cooks

Origin of cook

From Middle English cook, from Old English cōc (“a cook”), from Latin cocus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook, become ripe”). Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian khoch (“cook”), Dutch kok (“cook”), German Koch (“cook”), Luxembourgish Kach (“cook”), Danish kok (“cook”), Icelandic kokkur (“cook”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk kokk (“cook”), Swedish kock (“cook”). Also compare Proto-West Germanic *kokōn (“to cook”) (whence North Frisian kööge, kööki (“to cook, boil”), West Frisian koaitsje (“to cook”), Cimbrian khochan, khòchan (“to cook”), Dutch koken (“to cook”), German kochen (“to cook”), Limburgish kaoke, kauche (“to cook”), Luxembourgish kachen (“to cook”), Vilamovian kocha, koha (“to cook”), Yiddish קאָכן (kokhn, “to cook”)), from Late Latin cocō (“to cook”).

From Middle English coken, from the noun cook. In the slang sense of "proceed with some plan", coined by American rapper from California Lil B in 2010 and popularized in viral tweets and TikToks in mid-2022.

Imitative.

Words formed from cook

Phrases with cook

20 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with cook

38 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about cook

What does cook mean?
Cook means a person who prepares food.
What is cook in Hindi?
Cook in Hindi is रसोइया (rasoiyā), बावर्ची (bāvarcī), पकाना (pakānā). See Cook meaning in Hindi.
How do you use cook in a sentence?
Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf.
What part of speech is cook?
Cook can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce cook?
Cook is pronounced /kʊk/.
What is the plural of cook?
The plural of cook is cooks.

Words near cook in the dictionary

  1. coojahs
  2. Coojar
  3. coojas
  4. coojong
  5. coojongs
  6. cook
  7. cook back
  8. cook book
  9. cook books
  10. cook car
  11. cook cars

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cook (page history and authors); Cook (page history and authors); रांधणे (Marathi) (page history and authors); cook (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); چاڑھنا (Punjabi) (page history and authors); पकाउनु (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-cook.ogg, En-uk-to cook.ogg, en-au-cook.ogg.

Cite this entry: “cook.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cook. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.