grill

¹

[gril]

noun

1. a grated utensil for broiling meat, fish, vegetables, etc., over a fire; gridiron.

2. a dish of grilled meat, fish, etc.

3. grillroom.

4. Philately.,  a group of small pyramidal marks, embossed or impressed in parallel rows on certain U.S. and Peruvian stamps of the late 19th century to prevent erasure of cancellation marks.

verb (used with object)

1. to broil on a gridiron or other apparatus over or before a fire.

   Synonyms: barbecue

2. to subject to severe and persistent cross-examination or questioning.

   Synonyms: probe, interrogate

3. to torment with heat.

   Synonyms: torture

4. to mark with a series of parallel bars like those of a grill.

verb (used without object)

1. to undergo broiling.

grill

²

[gril]

noun

1. grille.

grill

¹

/ ɡrɪl /

verb

1. Usual US and Canadian word: broil. to cook (meat, fish, etc) by direct heat, as under a grill or over a hot fire, or (of meat, fish, etc) to be cooked in this way

2. (tr; usually passive) to torment with or as if with extreme heat

   the travellers were grilled by the scorching sun

3. informal,  (tr) to subject to insistent or prolonged questioning

noun

1. a device with parallel bars of thin metal on which meat, fish, etc, may be cooked by a fire; gridiron

2. a device on a cooker that radiates heat downwards for grilling meat, fish, etc

3. food cooked by grilling

4. See grillroom

grill

²

/ ɡrɪl /

noun

1. a variant spelling of grille

Other Word Forms

• griller noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grill¹

1660–70; 1890–95 grill ¹ for def. 6; < French gril gridiron ≪ Latin crātīculum, creātīculō, diminutive of crātis wickerwork, hurdle. See grille

Word History and Origins

Origin of grill¹

C17: from French gril gridiron, from Latin crātīcula fine wickerwork; see _grille

Origin of grill²

C17: see _grille

Example Sentences

He's being grilled by Chinese investigators about the time he allegedly ordered a stranger to be killed - a human offering to celebrate his sworn brotherhood with a business partner.

Read more on BBC

I spend time there with my family, and everything comes to you on the beach—fresh juices, caipirinhas, grilled cheese skewers, even cooked corn.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Americans flew Hayhanen back to the States, where FBI agents locked him in a hotel room and grilled him for seven days straight.

Read more on Literature

As mines across the region shuttered, he turned to scraping grills at a Hardee’s, then cleaning office buildings at night, then stocking shelves and changing tires at a Walmart in Arkansas.

Read more on Salon

Visitors share their itineraries online, complete with coloured-coded route maps and snaps of Uyghur delicacies, like the spicy stew, "big plate chicken", grilled lamb skewers, and wine made with horse milk.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• barbecue 
• roast 
• sear