cook

Compared meaning: to cook or prepare food (verb).

比较义项：烹饪，做饭（动词）。

• prepare

  More formal; describes making a whole meal ready, often involving more than just heating, and typically pairs with 'meal' or 'dinner' rather than a single ingredient.

  更正式，指把一整顿饭准备妥当的过程，往往不只是加热，通常与“一餐”“晚餐”这类词搭配，而不是单个食材。

  The private chef prepares a different three-course meal every evening.

  这位私人厨师每天晚上都准备一顿不同的三道菜大餐。

• cook 本词

  The everyday word for using heat to make food ready to eat; can stand alone without an object ('learn to cook') and also names the job 'a cook'.

  日常用词，指用加热的方式把食物做熟；可以不带宾语单独使用（如“learn to cook”），也可以指“厨师”这一职业。

  She learned to cook when she was only ten years old.

  她只有十岁的时候就学会了做饭。

Both words can mean to cook food, but differ in tone. Prepare is more formal, describing the whole process of making a meal ready. Cook is the everyday word for using heat to make food ready to eat. Not compared: prepare's 'get ready' sense.

这两个词在“做饭、烹饪”这个意义上很接近，但语气和用法有别：prepare更正式，强调把一整顿饭准备妥当的过程，往往不只是加热；cook是日常说法，强调用加热的方式把食物做熟。这里不比较prepare的“准备，预备（做某事）”等其他常见义项。