cook a meal

Meaning

To prepare and make food to be eaten, often for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In relationships, this is a common way to show care, spend quality time together, or share household responsibilities.

Examples

• We love to cook a meal together on Friday nights.

  We love to cook a meal together on Friday nights.

• My partner offered to cook a meal for my parents when they visit.

  My partner offered to cook a meal for my parents when they visit.

• It is nice to cook a healthy meal instead of ordering takeout.

  It is nice to cook a healthy meal instead of ordering takeout.

• He promised to cook a special meal for their anniversary.

  He promised to cook a special meal for their anniversary.

• She usually cooks a quick meal after she gets home from work.

  She usually cooks a quick meal after she gets home from work.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to cook a meal to my girlfriend.

  ✓ I want to cook a meal for my girlfriend.

  Use the preposition 'for' instead of 'to' when preparing food for someone else's benefit.

• ✗ We cooked a delicious food last night.

  ✓ We cooked a delicious meal last night.

  'Food' is an uncountable noun and very general. Use 'meal' when talking about a specific occasion of eating, like breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Every Sunday, my husband and I ___ together.

  💡 prepare food to eat

  Show answer

  cook a meal

• I want to ___ for my friends to show them my new apartment.

  💡 make dinner or lunch

  Show answer

  cook a meal