cookie

Sometimes cook·y

[kook-ee]

noun

plural

cookies 

1. a small, usually round and flat cake, the size of an individual portion, made from stiff, sweetened dough, and baked.

2. Informal.,  dear; sweetheart (a term of address, usually connoting affection).

3. Slang.

   1. a person, usually of a specified character or type.

      a smart cookie;

      a tough cookie.

   2. an alluring young woman.

4. Also called browser cookie. Also called http cookie;. Digital Technology.,  a file or segment of data that identifies a unique user over time and across interactions with a website, sent by the web server through a browser, stored on a user’s hard drive, and sent back to the server each time the browser requests a web page.

   Your browser will run more efficiently after you clear the cache and cookies.

5. South Atlantic States (chiefly North Carolina).,  a doughnut.

6. Scot.,  a bun.

verb (used with object)

cookied , cookieing, cookying .

1. Digital Technology.,  to assign a cookie or cookies to (a website user).

   I'm not really comfortable being cookied all the time.

cookie

/ ˈkʊkɪ /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): biscuit. a small flat dry sweet or plain cake of many varieties, baked from a dough

2. a Scot word for bun

3. informal,  a person

   smart cookie

4. computing a piece of data downloaded to a computer by a website, containing details of the preferences of that computer's user which identify the user when revisiting that website

5. informal,  matters are inevitably or unalterably so

cookie

1. A collection of information, usually including a username and the current date and time, stored on the local computer of a person using the World Wide Web, used chiefly by websites to identify users who have previously registered or visited the site. Cookies are used to relate one computer transaction to a later one.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cookie¹

First recorded in 1750–55; from Dutch koekie, dialectal variant of koekje, equivalent to koek “biscuit, cake” + -je diminutive suffix; cake

Word History and Origins

Origin of cookie¹

C18: from Dutch koekje, diminutive of koek cake

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. toss / spill one's cookies, to vomit.

see hand in the till (cookie jar); that's how the ball bounces (cookie crumbles); toss one's cookies.

Example Sentences

Fans of rocky road ice cream can rejoice because the flavor — chocolate ice cream swirled with nuts and marshmallows — will be available in Girl Scout cookie form next year.

From Los Angeles Times

By the end, I reward myself: a bowl of pasta held back from the batch, a few cookie dough balls baked off just for me.

From Salon

Even in a moment of respite, when Roman takes Hank to a late-night diner for her favorite black and white cookie, the director has instructed the server to hurl the plate at her dismissively.

From Los Angeles Times

If parents want to do something special, Russell recommends quickly using a cookie cutter on a sandwich or adding a sticker alongside the snacks.

From Los Angeles Times

"Shortbread is America's second favourite cookie, after chocolate chip," says Anne Robinson, owner of Scottish Gourmet USA, a small business in North Carolina.

From BBC

Related Words

• biscuit 
• wafer