griddle
Americannoun
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griddles
plural
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a frying pan with a handle and a slightly raised edge, for cooking pancakes, bacon, etc., over direct heat.
-
any flat, heated surface, especially on the top of a stove, for cooking food.
a quick breakfast from the luncheonette's griddle.
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Upstate New York Older Use. a circular lid covering an opening on the cooking surface of a wood or coal-burning stove.
verb (used with object)
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griddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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griddled,
past participle, past
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griddling
present participle
noun
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Also called: girdle. a thick round iron plate with a half hoop handle over the top, for making scones, etc
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any flat heated surface, esp on the top of a stove, for cooking food
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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griddlesimple
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griddlessimple
-
have griddledperfect
-
has griddledperfect
-
am griddlingprogressive
-
are griddlingprogressive
-
is griddlingprogressive
-
have been griddlingperfect progressive
-
has been griddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
griddledsimple
-
had griddledperfect
-
was griddlingprogressive
-
were griddlingprogressive
-
had been griddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of griddle
1175–1225; Middle English gridel, gredil < Old French gridil, gredil; see grill 1
Explanation
A griddle is a flat pan or stovetop that's used for cooking things quickly at high temperatures. Let's make pancakes on the griddle for breakfast. Yum! In a home kitchen, a griddle can be either a special metal pan. part of your stove, or a small appliance that you plug in; a restaurant griddle has a much larger surface. No matter what its size, the flat surface of a griddle gets hot fast, so you can easily whip up some scrambled eggs, hash browns, or bacon. Griddle originally meant "shallow frying pan," and it shares a root with grill.
Vocabulary lists containing griddle
A Toast to Bread
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The List of Things That Will Not Change
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Twenty-Four Seconds from Now
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A recent Chipotle ad for the chain’s adobo chicken advertises the meat as grilled—even as an actor flips the thighs on what appears to be a flat-top griddle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Although the queen does not provide the instruction, the pancakes are then cooked on a hot griddle.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
As you know, Benihana grills meat and shrimp on a griddle, using soy sauce as a seasoning.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2024
Making this one-pan dish sure beats standing over the stove, cooking slice after slice of French toast or ladling pancake batter onto the griddle.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2023
She stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the pancakes burning on the griddle.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
That price tag reflects the Steelfire’s build quality, more like a premium skillet than the basic steel found on most griddles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The hot dogs are cooked on griddles, not in the so-called dirty water of hot-dog carts.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2023
There, among the many taco trucks and gas station stalls, rich, tempting spits and white-hot griddles, is Mitla Cafe.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 9, 2022
Electric stand-alone taiyaki griddles exist, but we went for a cast-iron mold that would work on a grill or gas stove.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2022
There are cooks in black T-shirts, frying eggs and potatoes on sizzling griddles.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The Order: The Tuna Bacon B.L.T. features smoked tuna, thinly sliced and griddled until crisp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
I got into English muffins because their griddled tops hid any number of sins.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2025
"It's an old traditional food that's been eaten for years and years", he said of the griddled bread.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2024
The menu features crispy, griddled corn cakes stuffed with everything from traditional cheese to shredded pork, chicken or sweet plantains.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2023
Never under such dark and griddled elms had the outlaws feasted upon their venison.
From The Works of Max Beerbohm by Sir Max Beerbohm
It was pre-dawn and I was griddling English muffins because I had misread my notes and forgotten there was another rise.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
I've also been known to appear a minute or two late to an interview after lunch because I was griddling a ham, cheddar and kimchi sandwich.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2022
Mayo works best when spread on the bread before griddling.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2021
Leah Anne Jaros of D.C. ups the ante on the exterior by sprinkling garlic powder over the butter- or mayo-coated sides before griddling, for a garlic-bread-inspired riff that is just so smart.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2021
In fact, grilling is out, and griddling is in.
From The Verge ● Jul. 20, 2021
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
