cook

cook — verb

1. to make food ready to eat by using heat — for example by frying, boiling, or bak

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA1
Definition

to make food ready to eat by using heat — for example by frying, boiling, or baking in an oven

Example

Tamar learned to cook rice and vegetables from her grandmother in Seoul.

cook + food item (rice and vegetables)

The chicken needs to cook in the oven for about forty minutes.

intransitive: food + cook + time + place

Common collocations
  • cook dinner
  • cook a meal
  • cook food
  • cook rice
  • cook vegetables
  • cook chicken
  • learn to cook
Synonyms
  • prepare

    more general; can include chopping and mixing without heat

  • heat up

    only means making already-cooked food warm again; less common in writing

Grammar Patterns

cook + food/meal

cook + for + person

cook + person + food/meal

food + cooks (intransitive)

Usage Note

Used both transitively (cook food) and intransitively (the rice cooks). A second object can follow: cook someone a meal.

Common Mistakes

She is a very good cooker.
She is a very good cook.
'cooker' means a kitchen appliance (stove or oven), not a person who cooks.
I cooked a cake for his birthday.
I baked a cake for his birthday.
'cook' is general; 'bake' is the specific term for making cakes, bread, and pastries in an oven.

2. to change numbers, records, or test results dishonestly in order to deceive peop

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to change numbers, records, or test results dishonestly in order to deceive people

Example

The accountant was caught cooking the company's financial records last year.

cook + financial records (dishonest use)

Sayaka discovered that someone had cooked the test scores to make them appear higher.

cooked + test scores (past participle)

Common collocations
  • cook the books
  • cook the accounts
  • cook the records
  • cook the data
  • cook the figures
Synonyms
  • falsify

    more formal and general; used in legal and official contexts

  • doctor

    informal; suggests small dishonest changes

  • tamper with

    emphasises secretly interfering with something; can apply to physical objects too

Grammar Patterns

cook + financial records / accounts / results

Usage Note

Frequently used in past participle form (cooked books, cooked records). The object is typically financial records, accounts, test results, or data.

Common Mistakes

The chef cooked the restaurant's money.
The accountant cooked the restaurant's accounts.
'cook' in this sense applies to records and data, not money itself.

3. used in casual conversation to ask what is happening or being planned

3.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

used in casual conversation to ask what is happening or being planned

Example

Tamar asked her colleagues what was cooking for the office holiday party.

what + was + cooking (asking about plans)

Nobody at the lab seemed to know what was cooking with the new research project.

Common collocations
  • what's cooking
  • what was cooking
Synonyms
  • going on

    more generally used to ask what is happening; not limited to plans

  • happening

    direct equivalent in 'what's happening?' — slightly more common than 'what's cooking'

Grammar Patterns

what + is/was + cooking

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the phrase 'what's / what was cooking'. Does NOT refer to food preparation in this sense. Used only in informal spoken or casual written contexts.

Common Mistakes

What is cooking in the kitchen?' (intended as 'what's happening')
What is cooking in the kitchen?
when food is present, this is naturally read as the PREPARE FOOD sense (sense 1), not this sense. Only use 'what's cooking' for 'what's happening' when no food context exists.

4. to be performing or progressing with great energy and skill

4.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to be performing or progressing with great energy and skill

Example

The jazz band was really cooking at the concert hall last Friday night.

subject (band) + was cooking (performing well)

Once the team started cooking in the second half, they scored three quick goals.

Common collocations
  • really cooking
  • was cooking
  • is cooking
Synonyms
  • excel

    formal equivalent; works in any tense

  • shine

    similar informal tone; often used for individual performers

  • go great

    more general; 'things are going great' has a similar informal meaning

Grammar Patterns

subject + is/was + cooking

Usage Note

Typically used in continuous progressive forms (is cooking, was cooking, has been cooking). The subject is usually a performer, group, or business entity. Not used in formal writing.

Common Mistakes

My sister cooked yesterday.' (intended as 'performed well')
My sister was really cooking at her piano recital last night.
this sense requires the continuous/progressive form and an intensifier like 'really' to sound natural.
Phrasal verbs

cook up

phrasal verb

To invent or create something, often a story or excuse, quickly.

She cooked up a clever excuse for being late.

The kids cooked up a plan to surprise their mother.

Idioms

Captain Cook

idiom

James Cook (1728–1779), a famous British explorer and navigator who mapped many parts of the Pacific Ocean, Australia, and New Zealand

Captain Cook was the first European to reach the eastern coast of Australia in 1770.

be cooking with gas

idiom

To be making very good progress or doing something excellently.

After fixing the engine, Mia was cooking with gas.

Are you cooking with gas on that new project?

cook the books

idiom

To change financial records dishonestly to hide money or avoid taxes.

The manager was fired for cooking the books.

Did the accountant cook the books to hide losses?

cook somebody’s goose

idiom

To ruin someone's plans or chances of success.

His mistake cooked his goose for the promotion.

If you lie, it will cook your goose with the boss.

cook — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Cook is the general word for preparing food with heat. Bake specifically means to cook in an oven using dry heat — used for bread, cakes, and pastries (but not meat, which is roasted). Boil means to cook food in water or other liquid at 100°C — common for pasta, eggs, rice, and vegetables. Fry means to cook in hot oil or fat in a pan — for eggs, potatoes, meat, and fish. Roast means to cook large pieces of food (meat or vegetables) in an oven or over a fire with oil or fat. For example: you cook rice by boiling it; you cook chicken by roasting it in the oven; you cook an egg by frying it in a pan; and you cook bread by baking it in the oven.

bake ↗boil ↗fry ↗roast ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • cook from scratch
  • learn to cook
  • know how to cook

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinVulgar LatinOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word cook comes from the Latin noun 'coquus', meaning a person who cooks. This passed through Vulgar Latin into Old English as 'cōc', then into Middle English as 'cook'. The verb form developed later from the noun, following a pattern common in English where a person's role becomes the action associated with it.