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 be sure, there are other ways to cook up those spots, but they require high temperatures the rock probably never experienced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 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

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

Med-jacks are spoon-feeding her whatever soups Frypan can cook up, checking her vitals and such.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner