cook off

1 of 2

verb

cooked off; cooking off; cooks off

intransitive verb

of a cartridge

: to fire as a result of overheating

cook-off

2 of 2

noun

ˈku̇k-ˌȯf 

-ˌäf

: a cooking competition

Examples of cook off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Alcohol The alcohol from wine or brandy that would normally cook off on the stove won’t evaporate in a slow cooker. — Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 6 Sep. 2026

If the surface of your steak is damp, the heat of the pan first has to cook off that water. — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 15 May 2026

Noun

In the summer of 2017, journalist and chef Pervaiz Shallwani and his wife, Laena McCarthy, hosted a hot dog cook-off for a friend’s birthday. — Maryam Jillani, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026

Whether this fall brings unseasonably warm weather or much-too-early snow, the season is still the time for pumpkin spice, fresh apples, fall leaves, pumpkin carving, food trucks, chili cook-offs and live music. — Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1945, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1936, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cook off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff