cook up

phrasal verb

cooked up; cooking up; cooks up

1

: to prepare (food) for eating especially quickly

I can cook up some hamburgers.

He cooked this whole meal up in less than 30 minutes.

2

: to invent (something, such as an idea, excuse, etc.) to deal with a particular situation

They cooked up a scheme to fool their neighbor.

You'll have to cook an excuse up quickly.

Examples of cook up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First announced in February, the new standalone brand — NikeSKIMS — has had fans buzzing with anticipation ever since, eager to see what the iconic brands would cook up. —Essence, 23 Sep. 2025

When Einstein first cooked up the general theory of relativity, our conception of gravity forever shifted from the prevailing notion of Newtonian gravity. —Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025

With Young leading the charge, Canales cooked up some fun passing concepts that led to rhythmic plays which kept the Panthers in sequence, gaining yardage and momentum on nearly every play. —Charlotte Observer, 21 Sep. 2025

Head coach Jay Sawvel’s got something cooking up in Laramie. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 19 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for cook up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup