gridiron

American  

[grid-ahy-ern] / ˈgrɪdˌaɪ ərn /

noun

1. a football field.

2. a utensil consisting of parallel metal bars on which to broil meat or other food.

3. any framework or network resembling a gridiron.

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

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verb (used with object)

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

gridiron British  

/ ˈɡrɪdˌaɪən /

noun

1. a utensil of parallel metal bars, used to grill meat, fish, etc

2. any framework resembling this utensil

3. a framework above the stage in a theatre from which suspended scenery, lights, etc, are manipulated

4. 1. the field of play in American football

   2. an informal name for American football

   3. ( as modifier )

      a gridiron hero

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Tickets for the gridiron finale start at around $6,000, making them out of reach for the vast majority of undocumented people, who tend to work in low-paying jobs.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

Phil Knight, who bankrolls Oregon, turned Nike into an intercontinental empire that transformed the Ducks into a gridiron behemoth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Or a gridiron celebration of a certain toaster pastry?

From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025

But beyond the strident rhetoric lies a good story about race, power and the exploitation of gridiron heroes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

While they were forced to run up and down the sandy gridiron, Milton was reading a paragraph by someone named Carlyle and answering the questions that followed.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• course
• court
• golf course
• green
• park
• range
• stadium
• terrain
• track
• turf