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• cook
  cook

  verb (used with object)

  to prepare (food) by the use of heat, as by boiling, baking, or roasting.
• Cook
  Cook

  noun

  Frederick Albert, 1865–1940, U.S. physician and polar explorer.

cook

¹ American  

[kook] / kʊk /

verb (used with object)

1. to prepare (food) by the use of heat, as by boiling, baking, or roasting.

2. to subject (anything) to the application of heat.

3. Slang. to ruin; spoil.

4. to process (computer programming code or other digital data) for use in an executable file format.

5. Slang. to falsify, as accounts.

   to cook the expense figures.

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verb (used without object)

1. to prepare food by the use of heat.

2. (of food) to undergo cooking.

3. Slang.

   1. to be full of activity and excitement.

      Las Vegas cooks around the clock.

   2. to perform, work, or do in just the right way and with energy and enthusiasm.

      That new drummer is really cooking tonight. Now you're cooking!

   3. to be in preparation; develop.

      Plans for the new factory have been cooking for several years.

   4. to take place; occur; happen.

      What's cooking at the club?

noun

• cooks
  plural

1. a person who cooks.

   The restaurant hired a new cook.

verb phrase

1. cook up

   1. to concoct or contrive, often dishonestly.

      She hastily cooked up an excuse.

   2. to falsify.

      Someone had obviously cooked up the alibi.

2. cook off (of a shell or cartridge) to explode or fire without being triggered as a result of overheating in the chamber of the weapon.

idioms

1. cook one's goose. goose.

2. cook the books, to manipulate the financial records of a company, organization, etc., so as to conceal profits, avoid taxes, or present a false financial report to stockholders.

cook ² American  

[kook, kook] / kuk, kʊk /

verb (used without object)

Scot.

1. to hide, especially outdoors, as by crouching down behind a hedge.

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Cook ³ American  

[kook] / kʊk /

noun

1. Frederick Albert, 1865–1940, U.S. physician and polar explorer.

2. George Cram 1873–1924, U.S. novelist, dramatist, and poet.

3. Captain James, 1728–79, English navigator and explorer in the South Pacific and Southern Oceans, particularly in the areas of Australia and New Zealand.

4. Sir Joseph, 1860–1947, Australian statesman, born in England: prime minister of Australia 1913–14.

5. Also called Aoraki.  Also called Aorangi.  Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand, on South Island. 12,349 feet (3,764 meters).

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cook ¹ British  

/ kʊk /

verb

1. to prepare (food) by the action of heat, as by boiling, baking, etc, or (of food) to become ready for eating through such a process

2. to subject or be subjected to the action of intense heat

   the town cooked in the sun

3. slang (tr) to alter or falsify (something, esp figures, accounts, etc)

   to cook the books

4. slang (tr) to spoil or ruin (something)

5. slang (intr) to happen (esp in the phrase what's cooking? )

6. slang (tr) to prepare (any of several drugs) by heating

7. slang (intr) music to play vigorously

   the band was cooking

8. informal

   1. to spoil a person's plans

   2. to bring about someone's ruin, downfall, etc

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noun

1. a person who prepares food for eating, esp as an occupation

Cook ² British  

/ kʊk /

noun

1. Captain James . 1728–79, British navigator and explorer: claimed the E coast of Australia for Britain, circumnavigated New Zealand, and discovered several Pacific and Atlantic islands (1768–79)

2. Sir Joseph. 1860–1947, Australian statesman, born in England: prime minister of Australia (1913–14)

3. Peter ( Edward ). 1937–95, British comedy actor and writer, noted esp for his partnership (1960–73) with Dudley Moore

4. Robin, full name Robert Finlayson Cook . 1946–2005, British Labour politician; foreign secretary (1997–2001), Leader of the House (2001-2003)

5. Thomas. 1808–92, British travel agent; innovator of conducted excursions and founder of the travel agents Thomas Cook and Son

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Cook ³ British  

/ kʊk /

noun

1. Official name: Aoraki-Mount Cook.  a mountain in New Zealand, in the South Island, in the Southern Alps: the highest peak in New Zealand. Height: reduced in 1991 by a rockfall from 3764 m (12 349 ft) to 3754 m (12 316 ft)

2. a mountain in SE Alaska, in the St Elias Mountains. Height: 4194 m (13 760 ft)

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cook More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cook

• chief cook and bottlewasher
• short order (cook)
• too many cooks spoil the broth
• what's cooking

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cooking
  noun
• cookable
  adjective
• cookless
  adjective
• uncookable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cooks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cook¹

First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English co(o)ke, Old English cōc (compare Old Norse kokkr, German Koch, Dutch kok ), from Latin cocus, coquus, derivative of coquere “to cook”; akin to Sanskrit pácati “(he) cooks, bakes, roasts,” Slavic ( Polish ) piec “to bake, roast,” Greek péssein, péptein “to boil, cook”; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of cook²

First recorded in 1780–90; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cook Cook cooks

Jess Pryles, a live-fire cook and the author of “Prime Cuts,” offered her own lyrical description: “Wagyu gives a buttery richness and so easily melts over your tongue.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

For the judges, hours spent watching contestants cook also reveal something beyond culinary ability.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Add the cornbread and cook, stirring and turning occasionally, until crisp and golden.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Ultraprocessed foods are often cheaper than ingredients used to cook from scratch, and they’re often easier to access.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

She was a terrible cook and proud of it.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

In the third quarter, safety Alex Cook picked off a pass by Spencer Rattler at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

The likes of Sam Cook and Brydon Carse wait in the wings to step in or provide different skills if necessary, meaning England have a large squad of pacemen to choose from.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

The operations-focused Cook helped Apple become a consumer-electronics giant that can manage product cycles at massive scale.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

Steven Cook, a senior fellow for Middle East issues at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Iran was pressuring Oman into the joint plan so it has the patina of a legitimate cross-strait project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Cook and Marco looked to where Nathan’s boat was now drifting away into the blue distance.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

Though she is no longer Bandier’s live-in private chef, Tiedemann still sometimes cooks for Bandier and her family; she recently did Bandier’s birthday dinner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Here’s how one of L.A.’s freshest new restaurants makes grains, greens and veggies sing — and how home cooks can replicate its grain bowls and salads.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

The Journal reported this week that 93,000 Haitians on temporary protected status, or TPS, had been working in Florida, including thousands of cooks and nursing assistants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The ingredients will be familiar to home cooks, he says, but he will introduce a few “cheffy tricks” along the way.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

One of the cooks said, "Gimme her plate!"

From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl