fry an egg

Meaning

This phrase means to cook an egg in a hot pan with a small amount of oil or butter. It is a basic cooking skill and a popular way to prepare eggs for breakfast.

Examples

• I like to fry an egg and put it on toast every morning.

  I like to fry an egg and put it on toast every morning.

• Can you teach me how to fry an egg without breaking the yolk?

  Can you teach me how to fry an egg without breaking the yolk?

• He heated some butter in the pan to fry an egg.

  He heated some butter in the pan to fry an egg.

• It only takes a couple of minutes to fry an egg.

  It only takes a couple of minutes to fry an egg.

• She decided to fry an egg to go with her leftover rice.

  She decided to fry an egg to go with her leftover rice.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I will cook an egg in the pan.

  ✓ I will fry an egg.

  While 'cook' is grammatically correct, 'fry' is much more specific and natural when using a pan with oil or butter.

• ✗ He is frying the egg.

  ✓ He is frying an egg.

  Use the indefinite article 'an' when speaking generally about cooking one egg, unless you are referring to a specific egg already discussed.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Put some butter in the pan if you want to ___.

  💡 Cook an egg in a hot pan with fat

  Show answer

  fry an egg

• I don't want boiled eggs; I think I'll ___ instead.

  💡 Cook an egg in a frying pan

  Show answer

  fry an egg