gridiron

[grid-ahy-ern]

See more synonyms for gridiron on Thesaurus.com

noun

a football field.
a utensil consisting of parallel metal bars on which to broil meat or other food.
any framework or network resembling a gridiron.

a structure above the stage of a theater, from which hung scenery and the like are manipulated.

verb (used with object)

to mark off into squares or design with a network of squares.

Origin of gridiron

1250–1300; Middle English gridirne, gridir(e), gridere, variant of gridel griddle; variants in -irne, -ire, etc. are associated by folk etymology with ModE variant irne, ire iron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gridiron

square, stadium, park, gymnasium, field, ring, stage, gym, rink, amphitheater, garden, overpass, crossroad, junction, bridge, passage, intersection, court, track, terrain

Examples from the Web for gridiron

Contemporary Examples of gridiron

This opponent is like no other Rodgers has to face on the gridiron.
Aaron Rodgers Takes Aim at Congo’s ‘Blood Minerals’ War
John Prendergast
December 3, 2014
Back then, every single newspaper, website, and news show (even the fake news shows) was awash in gridiron scandal.
How the Media Failed to Nail the NFL
Steve Almond
October 19, 2014
Doing well at the Gridiron is a rite of passage that not everybody survives.
The GOP’s Comedy Gap
Eleanor Clift
March 10, 2014
How an economist views the game and the evidence from XLVII years on the gridiron.
Want a Super Bowl Boost for the Economy? Root for Seattle.
Mark Lieberman
February 2, 2014
But if you think the gridiron arts can shake up the grey matter, try the prize ring.
Boxers, Be Brave and Quit Before Your Brain Turns to Mush
Gordon Marino
October 25, 2013

Historical Examples of gridiron

He has all his housework there, a broom and a duster, and I dare say he has a cooking-stove and a gridiron.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
The gridiron of Saint Lawrence is of an agreeable freshness to him.
The Dream
Emile Zola
Cold potatoes may be fried in slices or quarters, or broiled on a gridiron.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Cut out the stems, and put them, with the top of the mushrooms downwards, on a gridiron.
The Skilful Cook
Mary Harrison
Put them on a gridiron that has been well rubbed with sweet butter.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard

British Dictionary definitions for gridiron

gridiron

noun

a utensil of parallel metal bars, used to grill meat, fish, etc
any framework resembling this utensil
a framework above the stage in a theatre from which suspended scenery, lights, etc, are manipulated
1. the field of play in American football
2. an informal name for American football
3. (as modifier)a gridiron hero

Often shortened to: grid

Word Origin for gridiron

C13 gredire, perhaps variant (through influence of ire iron) of gredile griddle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gridiron

cooking utensil, early 14c., griderne, alteration (by association with iron) of gridire (late 13c.), a variant of gridil (see griddle). Confusion of "l" and "r" was common in Norman dialect. Also a medieval instrument of torture by fire. As the word for a U.S. football field, by 1896, for its lines.