cooking

American  

[kook-ing] / ˈkʊk ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that cooks.

2. the art or practice of preparing food; cookery.

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adjective

1. used in preparing foods.

   All of my cooking utensils are packed, so I had to order pizza.

2. suited for use in cooked food.

   The Golden Delicious is our favorite cooking apple, especially for applesauce.

Other Word Forms

• self-cooking
  adjective

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

Rowdy children represent yet another challenge for restaurants like his that have struggled through the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, skyrocketing prices for beef, cooking oil and other goods, Xue said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026

For 20 years, Poonam Agarwal has been cooking and selling plates of yellow-pea curry and fluffy flatbread from her streetside stall next to Old Delhi’s iconic mosque, the Jama Masjid.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026

I bought a pizza stone, preheated it thoroughly, and figured out the ideal cooking time for my oven.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026

She now finds the smell of food cooking unbearable, and struggles to eat a normal diet.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026

Mama now took care of everything—grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing our clothes, paying bills and tuition.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• cookery
• cuisine
• culinary art
• culinary science