Home / Dictionary / Cook

Cook Very Common

Cook has 12 different meanings across 3 categories:

Noun · Verb · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

someone who cooks food

"The new chef hired by the restaurant will start work as a cook in our kitchen tomorrow morning."

2

English navigator who claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain and discovered several Pacific islands (1728-1779)

"James Cook, the famous explorer who charted the eastern seaboard of Australia, never actually prepared a meal during his voyages."

3

A person who prepares food.

"The head cook at the restaurant praised the new chef for her exceptional seasoning skills."

In plain English: A cook is someone who prepares food for other people to eat.

"We went to my cousin's house and stayed for dinner with his mom, who is a great cook."

Usage: Use "cook" as a noun to refer specifically to a person who prepares food professionally or in a home kitchen. Do not use it to describe the act of cooking itself, which remains a verb.

Verb
1

prepare a hot meal

"My husband doesn't cook"

2

prepare for eating by applying heat

"Cook me dinner, please"

"can you make me an omelette?"

"fix breakfast for the guests, please"

3

transform and make suitable for consumption by heating

"These potatoes have to cook for 20 minutes"

4

tamper, with the purpose of deception

"Fudge the figures"

"cook the books"

"falsify the data"

5

transform by heating

"The apothecary cooked the medicinal mixture in a big iron kettle"

6

To prepare food for eating by heating it, often combining with other ingredients.

"After years of working at a restaurant, he finally learned how to cook an egg without cracking it."

7

To make the noise of the cuckoo.

8

To throw.

In plain English: To cook means to prepare food by heating it until it is ready to eat.

"My grandmother likes to cook dinner every evening."

Usage: As a verb, cook most commonly means to prepare food by heating it rather than throwing something. Use this word when describing the act of cooking meals or dishes, not when indicating an action of tossing objects.

Proper Noun
1

An English occupational surname, from occupations for a cook or seller of cooked food. Famously held by James Cook, English captain and explorer of the Pacific Ocean, and for whom the Cook Islands, Cook Strait and Mount Cook were named.

"The history teacher introduced the class to Captain Cook, explaining that his famous surname was originally an occupational title referring to someone who sold cooked food before becoming a renowned name in exploration."

Example Sentences
"We went to my cousin's house and stayed for dinner with his mom, who is a great cook." noun
"My grandmother likes to cook dinner every evening." verb
"She likes to cook dinner for her family every night." verb
"I need to cook vegetables before adding them to the soup." verb
"He learned how to cook while living in Italy last year." verb
See Also
restaurant food chief stewer cookless simmer gynophagia roast
Related Terms
restaurant food chief stewer cookless simmer gynophagia roast saucier pacific ocean babbling brook scrambled egg saint louis county braise cookmaid androphagia steam english prepare blacken
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
skilled worker create from raw material change integrity cheat change
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
chef cookie fry cook preserver roaster seasoner preserve dress deglaze scallop flambe put on devil precook whip up concoct lard bake brown coddle souse microwave blanch overcook fricassee stew roast braise fry grill steam pressure-cook poach juggle

Origin

The word cook comes from the Old English cōc, which was borrowed from Latin cocus. It ultimately traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cook" or "become ripe."

Rhyming Words
ook book look took kook hook gook mook zook wook sook rook nook vook dook jook fook krook grook blook
Compare
Cook vs