cook up

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

Hilton was quickly mocked, with online commenters pointing out that authentic Mexican street tacos are served in soft tortillas, cooked up by street vendors, and that the hard-shell varieties found in a fast-food chain do not count as the real deal. — Linh Tat, Daily News, 15 July 2026

His latest concerns the relationship between a past-his-prime painter (a stellar Ian McKellen) and his new assistant (Michaela Coel, magnificent), and a scheme cooked up by his nincompoop kids (Jessica Gunning and James Corden). — Adam Graham, Twin Cities, 12 July 2026

All that delicious flavor cooks up quickly in individual portions. — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 9 July 2026

More than two years after cooking up a major production bake off, Netflix is opening the doors for its latest reality competition series The Golden Ticket. — Peter White, Deadline, 30 June 2026

Rhymes for cook up

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