adjective

cooked

kuukt

adjective

Prepared by the application of heat.

"She served a perfectly cooked steak with roasted vegetables."

"The rice was fully cooked after fifteen minutes."

(informal) Faked, manipulated, or fraudulently altered.

"Investors sued after learning the company had cooked its books."

"The evidence looked cooked to fit the detective's theory."

(informal) In serious trouble, or completely finished; done for.

"If the boss finds out about this, we're cooked."

"The team is cooked after losing three starters to injury."

(slang) Drunk, high, or otherwise intoxicated.

"He was too cooked to drive home from the party."

How to Use Cooked

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishFinished by heat when it means food, but in slang it can mean fabricated, doomed, or drunk depending on context.

Common mistake

Context matters a lot here — "the books were cooked" is fraud, "he's cooked" can mean exhausted, doomed, or drunk. Don't mix registers in formal writing.

Common pairings

cook the books we're cooked fully cooked

Word Forms

more cooked comparative, most cooked superlative

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She served a perfectly _____ steak with roasted vegetables.

Etymology

Simply the past participle of the verb cook, extended over time into an adjective for anything "done" — whether that's food, a person's prospects, or someone's sobriety.

Rhymes for cooked

smoked choked hooked looked stoked crooked spooked stroked overcooked unprovoked overlooked overbooked

See all rhymes for cooked →