What does cookout mean?
A cookout is an informal outdoor gathering at which food — most often burgers, hot dogs, chicken, or other items cooked on a grill — is prepared and shared among family, friends, or neighbors. The word is primarily American, though it also sees use in Australia, where 'cookout' serves as a general name for a backyard barbecue. Cookouts carry warm, laid-back connotations: paper plates, folding chairs, lawn games, and unhurried conversation are part of the picture, and the term is strongly tied to summertime holidays such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. While closely related to 'barbecue,' a cookout emphasizes the social event rather than the cooking technique itself, which makes it a handy word for describing casual get-togethers where the food matters but the atmosphere matters more.
nounA social gathering, typically held outdoors in a backyard or park, at which food — especially meat or other items grilled over an open fire — is cooked and eaten. In Australian English it more broadly denotes any outdoor barbecue gathering.
- An informal outdoor social gathering centered on food cooked and eaten outside, usually grilled over charcoal or gas.
- (Australian English) A barbecue or outdoor meal prepared on a grill, used as a general term for such events.
"We're hosting a Fourth of July cookout in the backyard this year."
"The neighborhood association throws an annual summer cookout in the park."
"After the game, everyone headed to Dave's for burgers and hot dogs at his impromptu cookout."
Standard regular plural; used when referring to multiple such gatherings.
"The campground hosts several cookouts every weekend during the summer season."
In Australia, a 'cookout' isn't just a party — Aussies famously call any backyard grilling session by that name, making it one of the few words Americans and Australians grill over together.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cookout
Cookout is a twentieth-century American formation, combining the verb 'cook' (from Old English 'cōcian', likely borrowed from Latin 'coquere' via Vulgar Latin) with the adverbial particle 'out' to describe food preparation moved out of doors. The compound arose naturally alongside the rise of suburban backyard entertaining and home grilling culture in mid-century America. Its closest relatives are other verb-plus-particle coinages of everyday life, and its meaning overlaps with 'barbecue', a word of ultimately Caribbean origin that entered English much earlier.
How cookout is actually used
Cookout is chiefly an American term with strong associations with warm-weather holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. The tone is relaxed and convivial. It functions almost exclusively as a countable noun; there is no established verb form.
Easily confused with cookout
A barbecue refers both to the cooking method and the event itself, while a cookout emphasizes the casual outdoor social gathering; in much of the US South the terms are used interchangeably.