Meaning & use
home cook
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a person who cooks regularly at home rather than as a job
Grammar: Countable: a home cook, two home cooks. Do not use it for restaurant chefs.
Patterns
- a home cook
- home cooks
As a home cook, she makes simple meals for her family every night.
This recipe is designed for home cooks who don't have fancy equipment.
He's just a home cook, but his pasta is better than many restaurants'.
Word forms
| plural | home cooks |
|---|
Common combinations
- an experienced home cook
- An experienced home cook can improvise with whatever is in the fridge.
- a passionate home cook
- He's a passionate home cook who tries new cuisines on weekends.
- for home cooks
- This cookbook is written for home cooks, not professionals.
- a skilled home cook
- She's a skilled home cook and often bakes bread from scratch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- amateur cook
- Similar, but 'amateur' can suggest a lack of skill; 'home cook' is neutral or positive.
- domestic cook
- Old-fashioned and rare; 'home cook' is the natural modern term.
Opposites
Word family
- home cooking noun
- food cooked at home, often simple and comforting
- cook noun
- a person who prepares food, especially as a job
Commonly confused: home cook or chef?
home cook vs chef
A chef is a trained professional who usually works in a restaurant; a home cook cooks at home.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'home cook' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Home cook' means someone who cooks at home, so 'My mother is a home cook' fits. The other options suggest a professional restaurant context, where 'chef' or 'cook' would be used instead.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “home cook”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.