cooking
Americannoun
-
the act of a person or thing that cooks.
-
the art or practice of preparing food; cookery.
adjective
-
used in preparing foods.
All of my cooking utensils are packed, so I had to order pizza.
-
suited for use in cooked food.
The Golden Delicious is our favorite cooking apple, especially for applesauce.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cooking
First recorded in 1635–45; cook 1 + -ing 1 for the noun senses; cook 1 + -ing 2 for the adjective senses
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She began cooking everything from scratch after realizing that eating highly processed foods was contributing to her eczema flare-ups.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
“You’re bringing in specialty products that are taking up space and you’re training your team on these new dishes that they’re only going to be cooking two days a week.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Around 83% of respondents supported additional payments to help with cooking, 80% for budgeting, and 78% for washing.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
She cared for her owner’s children as well as her own, herding cattle and cooking meals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
It didn’t take long to find out that I knew absolutely nothing about cooking.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
