Cookbook

'kʊk.bʊk

nounBeginnerCommonLiterature

Definitions

1

A book containing instructions for preparing food.

'kʊk.bʊk

nounneutralBeginner
Literature

A book of recipes and cooking instructions.

My favorite cookbook has a collection of Italian recipes.

💡 Simply: It's like a manual for making delicious food! Imagine you want to bake a cake – you'd look in a cookbook to find out exactly how to do it. It's full of recipes!

👶 For kids: A book that tells you how to make yummy food!

More Examples

2

She purchased a new cookbook focused on vegan cuisine.

3

The cookbook provided detailed instructions for making the perfect soufflé.

How It's Used

General

"I found a great new recipe in my cookbook."

Home Cooking

"She uses a cookbook to try new dishes."

Idioms & expressions

to cook the books

To falsify financial records.

"The company was accused of cooking the books to hide their losses."

From "cook" + "book". The earliest cookbooks date back to ancient times, but the modern form became widespread with the printing press.

Cookbooks have evolved from basic collections of recipes to comprehensive guides with nutritional information and cultural insights. Early examples focused on royal and wealthy families and have expanded with more people.

Memory tip

Think of a book full of recipes you can 'cook' from.

cook bookcook-book

Usage

20%Spoken
80%Written