verb

cocinar

cook

Preparar alimentos usando calor para que se puedan comer.

Cocinar means to cook: to prepare food, especially by heating it. It can also mean to prepare food in general.

Me gusta cocinar. — I like to cook.
Cocina las verduras durante diez minutos. — Cook the vegetables for ten minutes.

Figuratively, it can mean to devise or arrange something, sometimes secretly or dishonestly.

Cocinar is a regular -ar verb. It can be used with an object, as in “cook vegetables,” or without one, as in “I like to cook.”

It comes from cocina (“kitchen” or “cooking”), ultimately from Latin coquina.

preparar — “to prepare”; broader than cocinar and does not necessarily involve cooking.
guisar — “to cook” or “to stew”; often suggests cooking a dish with a sauce or liquid.
hornear — “to bake”; specifically means cooking in an oven.

There is no common direct antonym.