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
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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:
Essentially a massive skillet, a good griddle can just as easily turn out pancakes for breakfast, paninis for lunch, or, yes, chicken thighs for dinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Just add water and get it on the griddle.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025
Although the queen does not provide the instruction, the pancakes are then cooked on a hot griddle.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
Grab some griddle cakes We used to go to Patrick’s Roadhouse for breakfast, but sadly, it’s closed, which is devastating because it’s always been a staple.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
She was at the stove, making pancakes on a griddle so large it covered two burners on the stove.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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
He griddles fresh muffins every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at South Park coffee shop/wine bar Good Voyage.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
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
Another will serve Japanese teppanyaki, where chefs cook flamboyantly on huge griddles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2023
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
"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
But in the hands of our friends across the Atlantic, tacos go positively mental — from places like France or Belgium, I’ve seen far too menu items dubbed “tacos” that look like griddled calzones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
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'd recommend griddling it in a skillet with some olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, but the old toaster is a-okay, too.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 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.
