Meaning & use
a line cook
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A restaurant cook who prepares food at one station on the kitchen line during service.
Grammar: Countable: a line cook, two line cooks; use 'the' for a known one.
Patterns
- work as a line cook
- a line cook at a restaurant
- hire a line cook
He started as a line cook and later became head chef.
The line cook plates each dish as the orders come in.
We need another line cook for Friday nights.
Word forms
| plural | line cooks |
|---|
Common combinations
- work as a line cook
- She works as a line cook in a busy seafood restaurant.
- a line cook at a restaurant
- He is a line cook at the hotel restaurant.
- hire a line cook
- The manager hired a line cook before the holiday rush.
- train as a line cook
- He trained as a line cook for two years.
- an experienced line cook
- They want an experienced line cook for the grill station.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- line noun
- The kitchen counter where orders are prepared and passed.
- cooking noun
- The activity or job of preparing food.
Commonly confused: a line cook or short-order cook?
a line cook vs short-order cook
A short-order cook makes quick simple dishes such as eggs and burgers, while a line cook may handle many stations in a full-service kitchen.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'line cook' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A line cook' is a countable noun, so it needs the article 'a' and a preposition before the place: 'a line cook at a busy restaurant'. Option 2 omits the preposition, option 3 omits the article, and option 4 uses the wrong form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a line cook”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.