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

Culinary director John Brand has cooked up an array of options—Supper, Larder, and Sternewirth, all located within the hotel, are not only some of the best restaurants in the Pearl District, but in San Antonio period. —Diana Oates, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2026

Other players are starting to step up, namely Carlton, who cooked up 16 points and eight rebounds. —Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 3 Feb. 2026

Whataburger and country music superstar Lainey Wilson have cooked up another free biscuit deal. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026

Since the seeds are so small, quinoa cooks up more quickly than most other grains. —Riley Wofford, Martha Stewart, 3 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for cook up

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