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Global slang
Doomed, finished, or utterly defeated — beyond saving in a situation, argument, or state of exhaustion
Safe to use?
Safe everywhere casual — one of the friendliest ways to declare disaster.
Tone
Comic doom; delivers finality with a laugh.
Region
Global
Formality
Informal; gaming, sports, and group-chat native.
cooked means Doomed, finished, or utterly defeated — beyond saving in a situation, argument, or state of exhaustion. It is best read as global slang associated with Global.
To be cooked is to be past the point of rescue. Studied nothing before the final? Cooked. Phone at 2% with no charger, an hour from home? Cooked. Team down four goals at half time? Profoundly cooked. The word delivers a verdict — not struggling, not in trouble, but done — and most uses are comic in their finality.
It also covers personal states: after a double shift you are cooked (exhausted); after being demolished in an argument you got cooked (roasted, defeated). Context sorts the senses, and the shared core is always "finished".
The delicious counterpart is "cook" as skill: "let him cook" means stand back, he is doing something brilliant, and "he's cooking" praises someone mid-masterstroke. The same kitchen produces both meanings — you can be cooking one minute and cooked the next, which internet commentary exploits constantly.
"The exam is in nine hours and I've just opened the textbook."
"I'm cooked."
"He brought a knife to a gunfight in that debate and got absolutely cooked."
"Double shift, no lunch break — I am cooked, do not perceive me."
"Down 3-0 with ten minutes left."
Comic doom; delivers finality with a laugh.
Safe everywhere casual — one of the friendliest ways to declare disaster.
Context-dependent
Looking rough, defeated, or unattractive (opposite of "serving")
An unflattering lookalike — someone who resembles another person, but the worse-looking...
Surprise or awkward pause; reaction to something unexpected
Taking a high-risk social move that could massively raise — or completely destroy — you...
Mysterious, aloof partner energy contrasted with golden retriever type
A simple, often improvised meal associated with minimal prep; parallel to girl dinner
"Your goose is cooked" has meant "you're done for" in English for well over a century, and Australian slang has long used "cooked" for exhausted or wrecked. The current wave — "we're cooked", "chat, is it cooked?" — rose through gaming streams and TikTok around 2023-2024, where it became the default verdict for hopeless situations, alongside its inverse "let him cook" (give him room, he's onto something).
Doomed, finished, or exhausted — past the point of saving. "We're cooked" is a comic verdict of hopelessness.
Opposites from the same kitchen. "He's cooking" means he is doing something brilliant; "he's cooked" means he is finished. "Let him cook" asks people to give someone room to work.
The core idea is old — "your goose is cooked" goes back to the 1800s, and Australians have long said cooked for wrecked or exhausted. Gaming and TikTok revived it globally around 2023.
No — it is comic fatalism. The only care needed is not to joke "you're cooked" about a situation someone is genuinely distressed about.
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SlangWatch entries are maintained by the SlangWatch Editorial Team using submitted examples, regional labels, tags, and ongoing reader corrections. We avoid claiming a precise origin or cultural pathway unless the entry has meaningful supporting data.