culinary

American  

[kyoo-luh-ner-ee, kuhl-uh-] / ˈkyu ləˌnɛr i, ˈkʌl ə- /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in cooking or the kitchen.

---

culinary British  

/ ˈkʌlɪnərɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in the kitchen or in cookery

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• culinarily
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of culinary

1630–40; < Latin culīnārius of the kitchen, equivalent to culīn ( a ) kitchen, food + -ārius -ary

Explanation

Culinary means having to do with cooking or the kitchen. If you go to culinary school, you're learning how to cook, most likely because you want to work as a chef. If you have a culinary streak, you might love cooking for your friends or maybe just watching cooking shows on TV. If your culinary repertoire includes nothing beyond tuna sandwiches and mac-and-cheese out of the box, you have a lot to learn, culinarily speaking!

Example Sentences

The culinary equivalent of a beach bonfire right as the sun drops below the horizon.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

But when longtime host Padma Lakshmi stepped down, Kish received an unexpected opportunity to return to the culinary competition by stepping up as its new host, a role she assumed in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Another problem for American chefs is that diners often assume they can re-create a labor-intensive, high-quality chicken dish at home, says Alex Eaton, culinary director of restaurant La Cave in Charleston, S.C.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

"The use of herbs and natural seasonings as alternatives to salt or culinary techniques such as using the acidity of citrus fruits may help reduce discretionary salt use while maintaining food palatability," concluded Santos.

From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2026

And how he used the money he made from that to put himself through culinary school to become a pastry chef.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds