cook up

British  

verb

1. informal to concoct or invent (a story, alibi, etc)

2. to prepare (a meal), esp quickly

3. slang to prepare (a drug) for use by heating, as by dissolving heroin in a spoon

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noun

1. (in the Caribbean) a dish consisting of mixed meats, rice, shrimps, and sometimes vegetables

cook up Idioms  

1. Fabricate, concoct, as in She's always cooking up some excuse. [Colloquial; mid-1700s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cook up

To do so, I stay away from bistros in fancy neighborhoods, which charge too much and often cook up mediocre food.

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

Perhaps this is because religion doesn’t seem to be among the ingredients that contemporary Victor Frankensteins are using to cook up and refine their creations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

Then, after the tour, the guests are able to cook up some of what they have found.

From Salon ● May 30, 2024

So there’s just a wonderful stew that we were able to cook up, it was a recipe that seems to work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2024

“Would you rather it be more difficult? I can cook up some algebraic equations if you’d like.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston