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

---

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]

---

Example Sentences

It takes Gillaspia, who is known for his videos on running and baking sourdough bread, about 30-45 minutes to cook up a batch of the ground beef and white rice mixture.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

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

“They asked us if we could cook up a solution that would address that need,” said John Rogers, who leads the engineering team.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2025

Madhusudhan says that does nothing to disprove his hypothesis; comets are known to be little laboratories that can cook up all sorts of unlikely things.

From Salon • May 31, 2025

"I've got to run over and pick up Mom. Then we'll be back and we can talk, and then maybe cook up some supper together, okay?"

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements