cooking

American

[kook-ing] / ˈkʊk ɪŋ /

noun

the act of a person or thing that cooks.
the art or practice of preparing food; cookery.

adjective

used in preparing foods.

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On Thursday, Bangladesh hiked prices of liquefied petroleum gas used for cooking and compressed natural gas used in some cars by 29 percent.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Darling is one of a handful of companies turning animal fats, cooking oil, and food waste into diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer, and feedstock.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Even Nana’s delicious, supposedly Pakistani cooking took on a new meaning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

King recalled grieving "at the stove top" and said cooking "was the way of mam showing her love and care".

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Lights were already on in the kitchen, and when our neighbor let us in, we could smell bacon cooking.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023