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.

Maggie had been headed to her aunt and uncle’s house to use their outdoor cooking setup.

From Literature

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

From The Wall Street Journal

I started cooking at home when I was about 13 or 14.

From The Wall Street Journal

Free cooking sessions are being held in Godalming to bring people together, help them make healthy choices and build confidence in the kitchen.

From BBC

The Hairy Bikers' first TV appearance together was in The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook in 2004, which was part cooking show and part travel programme.

From BBC

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