cooking

American

[kook-ing] / ˈkʊk ɪŋ /

noun

the act of a person or thing that cooks.
the art or practice of preparing food; cookery.

adjective

used in preparing foods.

All of my cooking utensils are packed, so I had to order pizza.
suited for use in cooked food.

The Golden Delicious is our favorite cooking apple, especially for applesauce.

Other Word Forms

self-cooking adjective

Etymology

Origin of cooking

First recorded in 1635–45; cook ¹ + -ing ¹ for the noun senses; cook ¹ + -ing ² for the adjective senses

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.

Takhar and doctoral student Yash Shah outlined their findings in two recent studies focused on how microwave frying changes what happens inside French fries during cooking.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2026

On Thursday, Bangladesh hiked prices of liquefied petroleum gas used for cooking and compressed natural gas used in some cars by 29 percent.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

This approach could also shorten cooking times, making it appealing for large-scale food production.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2026

The levy is meant to contribute to Singapore's purchases of sustainable aviation fuel, which is made from renewable sources as well as waste including used cooking oil and animal fat.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

But being teacher, she’d have to leave the cooking to Aunt Maud.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023