An outdoor meal or party where food is cooked and eaten outside, typically involving grilling or barbecuing.
A compound word combining 'cook' and 'out,' formed in American English in the early 20th century. It represents the distinctive American practice of informal outdoor entertaining combined with cooking. The term solidified during the 1950s suburban boom.
The cookout is deeply American—it emerged when suburban backyards became standard, cars made travel easier, and grills became affordable home appliances. What seems timeless is actually just 70 years old, yet it's now so culturally embedded that Americans think outdoor grilling is a universal human tradition.
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