cooking

1 of 3

present participle of cook entry 2

cooking

2 of 3

noun

cook·​ing ˈku̇-kiŋ 

1

a

: the act of preparing food for eating especially by heating : the act of cooking food

I do most of the cooking for our family.

b

: a manner of preparing food : cuisine

a technique used in French cooking

2

: food that is cooked

Do you like my cooking?

see also home cooking

cooking

3 of 3

adjective

: suitable or used for cooking

bought some cooking apples

cooking techniques

Cooking time is about 30 minutes.

Examples of cooking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The best part about this recipe is that there's no ahead-of-time cooking on the stovetop—everything goes in the slow cooker as is. —Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2025

Aside from finding more time for hobbies such as writing, painting and cooking, DeVico said, the habit has also enabled her to get excited about the little things again — like spotting a roly-poly in her garden. —Angela Yang, NBC news, 25 Dec. 2025

Adjective

One easy post-cooking task is wiping down your kitchen counters. —Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Nov. 2025

For even more cooking inspiration, the Ninja Foodi Deluxe comes with a guide filled with 45 recipes, so, really, anyone in the family could turn themselves into a master chef. —Kylee McGuigan, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1791, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cooking

• be cooking
• cooking spray
• home cooking
• Now you're cooking

Rhymes for cooking

• booking
• brooking
• hooking
• looking
• overlooking