What does “cooked” mean?

Meaning and local context

cooked means Finished, exhausted, in trouble, or unable to recover. in Philadelphia local language. A broad contemporary slang term common in Philadelphia and beyond.

How it is used

A person, team, plan, or device can be cooked. One example is “After that mistake, we were cooked.”, which corresponds to “After that mistake, we were in serious trouble.” in plain English.

Example interpretation

A second example is “I am cooked after that shift.”, where the same local sense is expressed as “I am completely exhausted after that work shift.”. Reading both examples together helps distinguish this regional meaning from other possible readings of the word or phrase.

Tone and register

It is not uniquely Philadelphia and the exact meaning changes by context. This caution is part of understanding “cooked”: the definition tells you what it means, while the surrounding situation and tone help you judge whether using it yourself is appropriate.