uncooked
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of uncooked
Explanation
Anything that's uncooked is raw, like an uncooked tomato eaten right off the vine in the garden or the bite of uncooked cookie dough you sneak from the mixing bowl. Use the adjective uncooked to describe any food that hasn't been heated at all — not in an oven, a microwave, or on the backyard grill. It's particularly common to describe food as uncooked if it's actually meant to be cooked. Don't eat that uncooked chicken, and don't feed it to your dog — it's not safe for you or Fluffy!
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.
I told my staff, “Buffet-wise, make sure that you go out and you cut the chicken in half and you cut the beef in half,” because it was coming out uncooked.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
During the winter, it offered some much-needed freshness — and a sense of equilibrium between the cooked and uncooked.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026
In Sweden, cheese is often eaten uncooked, while in the United States, cheese is frequently heated or eaten alongside meat.
From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2025
The cost of uncooked beef steaks reached $12.26 per pound as of September, up from $10.89 a year ago, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
Then picking up a cloth bag, she throws bags of sugar, salt, dried fish, uncooked rice, and canned foods into it.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
