cooked

cooked — adjective

1. Food that has been made ready to eat by using heat, such as boiling, baking, or

1.adjectiveA1
Definition

Food that has been made ready to eat by using heat, such as boiling, baking, or frying.

Example

Ravi prefers cooked vegetables over raw ones in his salad.

collocation: cooked vegetables — opposite: raw vegetables

Theo checked the temperature of the cooked chicken before serving it to his guests.

Common collocations
  • cooked meat
  • cooked vegetables
  • cooked rice
  • cooked food
  • cooked chicken
  • fully cooked
  • properly cooked
  • freshly cooked
Synonyms
  • done

    more commonly used as a complement after 'be' to check if food is ready; less formal

  • heated

    broader — refers to any application of heat, not necessarily for eating

  • ready

    focuses on the state of being prepared to eat rather than the method of preparation

  • baked

    specifically prepared in an oven with dry heat; a narrower method

Antonyms
  • raw

    not prepared by any heat at all

  • uncooked

    synonym of 'raw', emphasising that the cooking step was skipped

Grammar Patterns

cooked + noun

be + cooked

get + cooked

seem + cooked

Usage Note

The opposite is 'raw' — food that has not been heated at all. 'Cooked' covers all methods of heating, unlike 'baked' or 'fried' which specify a particular method.

Common Mistakes

I like my steak cooked, not rare.
I like my steak well-done, not rare.
'Cooked' simply means prepared by heat; 'well-done' means cooked until no pink remains.
The milk is cooked.
The milk is heated.
'Cooked' is not usually used for liquids that are simply warmed up.

2. If a person, company, or plan is cooked, they are in a bad situation from which

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

If a person, company, or plan is cooked, they are in a bad situation from which there is no escape and failure is certain.

Example

After the company lost its biggest client, the CEO knew they were cooked.

predicative use: be + cooked — informal register for failure

When Yusuf's phone fell into the lake, he realised his photos were cooked.

Common collocations
  • be cooked
  • get cooked
  • completely cooked
  • totally cooked
Synonyms
  • finished

    slightly less informal; broader — can mean ended for any reason

  • doomed

    more dramatic; implies fate rather than circumstance

  • ruined

    more formal; emphasises permanent damage to something once successful

  • washed up

    similar register; used more for people whose careers are over

Antonyms
  • safe

    not in danger of failure

  • secure

    in a strong position with no immediate threat

Grammar Patterns

be + cooked

get + cooked

feel + cooked

Usage Note

Frequently used in informal speech and comedy contexts. Not suitable for formal writing or official reports. The subject is usually a person, organisation, plan, or situation.

Common Mistakes

The company is cooked due to financial losses.' (in a formal report)
The company is in serious trouble due to financial losses.
'Cooked' is too informal for formal or professional writing.

3. Having lost a game, match, or contest by a very wide margin, so that the result

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

Having lost a game, match, or contest by a very wide margin, so that the result feels humiliating.

Example

The visiting team was cooked by a score of 8 to 1 in the semi-final match.

pattern: be + cooked + by + score — shows the margin of defeat

Yusuf's chess team got cooked in the championship round against the defending winners.

Common collocations
  • get cooked
  • be cooked
  • completely cooked
  • totally cooked
  • cooked by [score]
Synonyms
  • crushed

    similar intensity; implies overwhelming force

  • destroyed

    more dramatic; suggests total annihilation in the contest

  • demolished

    slangy and vivid; often used in sports commentary

  • beaten

    neutral and general; does not imply a large margin

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be + cooked

get + cooked

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: sense 3 is specific to competitions, games, and contests where there is a clear opponent and score. Sense 2 covers any kind of trouble (financial, personal, career).

Common Mistakes

We were cooked in the final by one point.
We were narrowly beaten in the final.
'Cooked' implies a large margin, not a close defeat.

4. Completely exhausted from physical or mental effort, with no energy left to cont

4.adjectiveB1
Definition

Completely exhausted from physical or mental effort, with no energy left to continue.

Example

After working twelve hours straight, Priya was completely cooked.

collocation: completely cooked — emphasises total exhaustion

Hana felt cooked after running her first marathon in the summer heat.

Common collocations
  • completely cooked
  • totally cooked
  • absolutely cooked
  • feel cooked
  • be cooked
Synonyms
  • exhausted

    more formal; the standard neutral term for extreme tiredness

  • wiped out

    similar informal register; common in American English

  • drained

    implies energy has been emptied out; slightly more formal

  • beat

    very informal; short and common in casual speech

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be + cooked

feel + cooked

get + cooked

look + cooked

Usage Note

Used mostly in predicative position after 'be', 'feel', 'look', or 'get'. Unlike sense 1, this sense is rarely used attributively before a noun ('a cooked athlete' is possible but much less common than 'the athlete is cooked').

Common Mistakes

I'm a little cooked after walking to the store.
I'm a little tired after walking to the store.
'Cooked' means extremely exhausted, not mild tiredness.

5. Strongly affected by an illegal drug, to the point where normal thinking, speech

5.adjectiveC1
Definition

Strongly affected by an illegal drug, to the point where normal thinking, speech, or movement is impaired.

Example

The officer found the group looking completely cooked after taking the pills.

collocation: completely cooked — slang for heavily intoxicated

In the film, the character was too cooked to remember what happened the night before.

Common collocations
  • completely cooked
  • totally cooked
  • get cooked
  • be cooked
  • look cooked
Synonyms
  • high

    the most common neutral term; less intense than 'cooked'

  • stoned

    specifically for cannabis; very common in informal use

  • wasted

    broader — can mean drunk or drugged; similar register

  • messed up

    broader — can include emotional or physical impairment

Grammar Patterns

be + cooked

get + cooked

look + cooked

Usage Note

Very informal slang, primarily used in casual speech, fiction dialogue, or music lyrics. Highly context-dependent and may be considered offensive or inappropriate in polite conversation.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words describe food that has been prepared by heat, but they differ in specificity and usage. 'Cooked' is the broadest and most neutral term — it covers any method of heating food and is taught at the earliest learning levels. 'Done' is used almost exclusively as a predicate adjective ('the chicken is done') to check whether cooking is complete; it does not appear before a noun. 'Ready' focuses on the food being in a state where it can be eaten, regardless of the cooking method — leftovers can be 'ready' after microwaving. 'Baked' and 'fried' each specify a particular cooking technique: dry heat in an oven versus hot oil in a pan. For example, you can say 'The baked potatoes are ready to serve' (method-specific), or 'The cooked vegetables are on the table' (general). Use 'cooked' when you want to contrast with 'raw'; use 'done' when checking doneness; use 'baked' or 'fried' when the cooking method matters to the dish.

cooked ↗done ↗ready ↗bakedfried ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • get cooked
  • be cooked

Etymology

LatinOld EnglishEnglish

'Cooked' is the past participle of 'cook', used as an adjective. 'Cook' comes from the Old English word 'cōc', which was borrowed from the Latin 'coquus' (a cook), itself from the Latin verb 'coquere' (to cook, to prepare food by heat). The adjective form has been used since the 1300s. The modern slang meanings — 'in trouble', 'defeated', 'exhausted', and 'under the influence of drugs' — all emerged in 20th-century informal American English, likely from the idea of being 'fully cooked' or 'done for', as if something has been heated to the point of no return.