cooked
- 01 A1 Beginner
food that has been heated and is no longer raw.
describing food that has undergone a cooking process and is ready for consumption.
Simple“Is the chicken cooked all the way through yet?”
In context“The recipe requires pre-cooked beetroot to save time during the final assembly of the salad.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
in a very difficult situation where you are likely to fail or lose.
predicative adjective indicating that a person or entity is in an irrecoverable state of failure or trouble.
Simple“If the teacher finds out I copied his homework, I'm cooked.”
In context“Once the scandal hit the front pages, the politician's career was effectively cooked, leaving him with no path to re-election.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
feeling extremely tired or having no energy left.
physically or mentally depleted; synonymous with being 'burnt out' or 'pooped'.
Simple“I've been working for twelve hours and I am absolutely cooked.”
In context“After the triple-overtime match, the players looked completely cooked as they limped toward the locker rooms.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
changed or faked to hide the truth, especially with money or numbers.
referring to records or accounts that have been manipulated or falsified to deceive.
Simple“The company went bankrupt after it was discovered they had cooked the books.”
In context“The forensic auditors discovered a series of cooked entries in the ledger designed to inflate the quarterly earnings reports.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'cooked the books'.
Synonyms - 05 C1 Advanced
being very drunk or under the influence of drugs.
severely intoxicated by alcohol or narcotics; often implies a state of being visibly impaired.
Simple“He looked totally cooked when he walked out of the club at 4:00 AM.”
In context“The security guard refused them entry because they were clearly cooked and likely to cause a disturbance inside.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is particularly common in Australian and New Zealand English.
“Apples, carrots, cooked broccoli and pears contain 80% to 89% water, as do oranges, grapes and pineapple.”
“The victim cooked them up with potatoes and ate the dish with a friend, “the woman that wears purple cardigans, two at a time”.”
From the past tense of the verb cook.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.