cook off

1. To remove a liquid through evaporation as a result of cooking. A noun or pronoun can be used between "cook" and "off." You'll need to cook the excess water off before the solution can be used. Don't worry, you'll cook off the wine in the process of cooking the sauce. If you don't put the pasta in the pot soon, you'll end up cooking all of the water off.

2. To be removed (from something) through evaporation as a result of cooking. A noun or pronoun can be used between "cook" and "off." Even though there is cognac in the recipe, the alcohol cooks off when the dish is being cooked. As the water cooks off, the sauce will thicken. It'll have a better, more condensed flavor once the stock cooks off.

3. To remove the safety pin and lever from a grenade and begin reducing the delay before it explodes. A noun or pronoun can be used between "cook" and "off." The soldier attempted to cook off the grenade so that it exploded on impact, but it ended up going off in midair. As a result of the incident with the grenades, soldiers are no longer instructed or taught how to cook them off. If you don't properly cook off that grenade, it won't explode at the right time.

4. Of explosives or ammunition, to fire or detonate prematurely or unintentionally as a result of excess heat in the surrounding environment. Military forces in the desert have had to start keeping their ammunition refrigerated during transport to avoid having it cook off in the extreme heat. A: "What caused the explosion in the bunker?" B: "Well, there's no evidence of enemy fire, sir. I think some of the munitions cooked off in this extreme heat." Hey, be extra careful handling grenades because they're liable to explode prematurely in the desert heat.