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

The trim level gives buyers the chance to cook up a completely unique color combination, with multiple color choices for brake calipers, exterior paint, badges and even seat belts. —Liam Rappleye, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025

As for Rae, the Chef cooked up his Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… debut album in August 1995, which entered the charts at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 12 Aug. 2025

Here are a few pro tips from our Test Kitchen to ensure your burgers cook up to perfection: Lamb can become dry when overcooked. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2025

The edges cook up crisp, and there's plenty to go around. —Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for cook up

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