concoct

American  

[kon-kokt, kuhn-] / kɒnˈkɒkt, kən- /

verb (used with object)

1. to prepare or make by combining ingredients, especially in cooking.

   We concocted a meal from leftovers since no one had time to stop at the store.

2. to devise; make up; contrive.

   He'll have to concoct an excuse for his absence if he wants to keep the job.

   Synonyms:

   hatch, fabricate, invent

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concoct British  

/ kənˈkɒkt /

verb

1. to make by combining different ingredients

2. to invent; make up; contrive

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Other Word Forms

• concocter noun
• concoctive adjective
• concoctor noun
• well-concocted adjective

Etymology

Origin of concoct

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin concoctus (past participle of concoquere “to cook together”), equivalent to con- con- + coc-, variant stem of coquere “to boil, cook ¹ ” from Greek péptein; pepsin, peptic ) + -tus past participle ending

Example Sentences

He has gone so far as giving these agents names and concocting personal back stories for them.

From The Wall Street Journal

We live and breathe stories: We concoct them; we relate them; we react to them.

From The Wall Street Journal

At its core, “Project Hail Mary” is as invested in Grace and Rocky’s chemistry as it is in the various lab experiments they concoct to rescue their respective planets.

From Los Angeles Times

But, as the forensic evidence in a new documentary shows, Williams' words were a story concocted to hide the grim truth.

From BBC

With each manicured frame and deceptively poignant observation on the impossibility of living normally in modern life, Kramer concocts an original, wonderfully empathetic study of the desire to play spectator to a world on fire.

From Salon

Related Words

• contrive
• create
• devise
• discover
• dream up
• envision
• fabricate
• hatch
• invent