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

Then, one day, that wilderness of simple cells cooked up something more complex: the ancestor of all plants, animals and fungi alive today, a cell type known to us as the eukaryote. —Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024

For those who may not like their sweet and savory dishes in one concoction, a new take on the infamous trifle Rachel Green cooks up on Friends is available for Friendsgiving celebrators hungry for a cute pop cultural moment. —Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Volunteers showed up from across the country to launch search and rescue missions, cook up free meals, help clear mud and debris from homes and otherwise offer moral and emotional support to a community suddenly gripped by scarcity – and mounting grief. —Mackenzie Happe and Zoë Todd, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024

Made with just three ingredients—tortellini, broth, and (at least in my version) spinach or other greens—this warming dish cooks up in minutes. —Elizabeth Brownfield, Southern Living, 26 Oct. 2024