ready-cooked

2.2

Made earlier so you can eat it without more work in the kitchen

adjective
/ˈrɛdi kʊkt/

: cocinado

The food I pick for Mei's steamy kitchen mostly consists of just prepared ready-to-cook meals, so there isn't much cooking to do in your own kitchen; now and then, there may be a ready-cooked meal to show off!

Examples

The store offers a variety of ready-cooked meals that only require reheating.
For convenience, many families prefer ready-cooked dishes over preparing food from scratch.
He decided to buy a ready-cooked dinner to save time on a busy weeknight.

Synonyms

prepared

vsready-cooked

103 1.3

Ready to use or do something when needed

is specific to food cooked earlier to be sold or eaten without more cooking

done

vsready-cooked

25 1.0

Cooked all the way through and ready to eat

is produced in advance so it can be sold or eaten without extra steps

ready-to-eat

vsready-cooked

8 2.8

Food prepared in advance that you can eat without cooking

is cooked in advance for sale or immediate eating without extra work

readymade

vsready-cooked

1 4.2

Made before you buy and ready to use

is narrower, applying to food cooked earlier for sale or eating

cooked

vsready-cooked

1 1.0

Food that is heated until ready to eat

is similar but emphasizes being made earlier for sale or immediate eating

precooked

vsready-cooked

1.9

Prepared earlier so you only need to heat it before eating

is cooked earlier mainly to be sold or eaten without further preparation

premade

vsready-cooked

3.4

A ready item you can eat or use immediately

is the same idea but specifically refers to food cooked in advance

How Ready

ready-to-eat

8 2.8

ready-cooked

2.2

cooked

1 1.0

half-baked

4.1

uncooked

8 1.0

Surface Forms

ready-cooked positive

Morphology

ready-cooked = ready + cooked (transparent) = ready + cooked

Meaning is directly derived from the clear combination 'ready' + 'cooked' meaning cooked in advance and ready to eat.

Etymology

Ready-cooked is made of the simple words ready ('prepared') and cooked ('done by cooking'), so it means food that was cooked earlier and is already ready to eat. That's why you can buy ready-cooked meals and eat them without more cooking.