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.
The fast-casual salad chain on Thursday cut its outlook for the year, as the U.S.’s largest-ever cyclospora outbreak keeps diners away from lettuce and other uncooked leafy greens.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
If you’re really worried, skip uncooked produce like salad mixes, berries, basil, and snap peas for the time being.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
The uncooked ramen adds a lovely crunch to the cookies, while the miso and seasoning fill out the flavor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Pictures of basic meals and dirty mattresses have been sent to the BBC by charities and asylum seekers at Clearsprings sites with claims residents had been served uncooked chicken and food which was still frozen.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
They knelt before an alcove at the back of the room and contemplated a shelf on which small bowls of uncooked rice had been neatly arranged.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
