concoct

verb

con·​coct kən-ˈkäkt 

kän-

concocted; concocting; concocts

transitive verb

1

: to prepare by combining raw materials

concoct a recipe

concocted a tropical fruit smoothie

2

: devise, fabricate

concoct an explanation

concocted a strategy to take control of the company

concocter noun

concoctive

kən-ˈkäk-tiv 

kän-

adjective

Synonyms

• devise
• invent
• construct

Examples of concoct in a Sentence

The drink was first concocted by a bartender in New York.

She concocted a stew from the leftovers.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the new Indonesian horror flick The Elixir, a new herbal potion concocted by a traditional medicine doctor accidentally wakes the dead, and now all Hell is breaking loose. —PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025

But in the late 1800s, food companies began concocting products that were wildly different from anything people could make themselves. —Alice Callahan, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025

Maybe the purposefully ambiguous coda was concocted to prove some sort of Rashomon-style truth-is-subjective point. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025

The very last thing the world needs is another conspiracy theory, but hoo-boy, Chiefs fans could concoct one about ESPN’s broadcasters. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin concoctus, past participle of concoquere to cook together, from com- + coquere to cook — more at cook

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for concoct

• deadlocked
• landlocked
• padlocked
• unblocked
• unlocked
• balked
• blocked
• chalked
• clocked
• cocked
• docked
• flocked

Kids Definition

concoct

verb

con·​coct kən-ˈkäkt 

kän-

1

: to prepare by combining various ingredients

concoct a stew

2

: to think up : invent

concoct a likely story

concoction

-ˈkäk-shən 

noun