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grill1

[gril]
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noun
  1. a grated utensil for broiling meat, fish, vegetables, etc., over a fire; gridiron.
  2. a dish of grilled meat, fish, etc.Compare mixed grill.
  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.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to broil on a gridiron or other apparatus over or before a fire.
  2. to subject to severe and persistent cross-examination or questioning.
  3. to torment with heat.
  4. to mark with a series of parallel bars like those of a grill.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to undergo broiling.
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Origin of grill1

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

Synonyms

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5. barbecue. 6. interrogate, probe. 7. torture.

grill2

[gril]
noun
  1. grille.
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grille

or grill

[gril]
noun
  1. a grating or openwork barrier, as for a gate, usually of metal and often of decorative design.
  2. an opening, usually covered by grillwork, for admitting air to cool the engine of an automobile or the like; radiator grille.
  3. any of various perforated screens, sheets, etc., used to cover something, as on a radio for protecting the amplifier or in cryptography for coding purposes.
  4. a ticket window covered by a grating.
  5. Court Tennis. a square-shaped winning opening on the hazard side of the court.Compare dedans(def 1), winning gallery.
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Origin of grille

1655–65; < French, Old French < Late Latin *gratīcula, Latin crātīcula (compare Old Provençal grazilha), diminutive of crātis
Related formsgrilled, adjectiveun·grilled, adjective
Can be confusedgrill grille
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

searroastbarbecueinterrogatecookburnrotisserieinterviewinquisitionquestioncatechizecross-examine

Examples from the Web for grill

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He would row me about the service of the Grill—something of that sort.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Ay, or dropped you with the Tongo chiefs, who'd grill you for breakfast?

    Confessions Of Con Cregan

    Charles James Lever

  • M—— M—— then held her close to the grill and told me to see for myself.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

  • He could stand on his head, yes, but it was unfair to grill her.

    The Paliser case

    Edgar Saltus

  • By the time they had reached dessert, the grill room was deserted.

    The Lost Despatch

    Natalie Sumner Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for grill

grill1

verb
  1. 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 wayUsual US and Canadian word: broil
  2. (tr; usually passive) to torment with or as if with extreme heatthe travellers were grilled by the scorching sun
  3. (tr) informal to subject to insistent or prolonged questioning
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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
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Derived Formsgriller, noun

Word Origin

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

grill2

noun
  1. a variant spelling of grille
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Word Origin

C17: see grille

grille

grill

noun
  1. Also called: grillwork a framework, esp of metal bars arranged to form an ornamental pattern, used as a screen or partition
  2. Also called: radiator grille a grating, often chromium-plated, that admits cooling air to the radiator of a motor vehicle
  3. a metal or wooden openwork grating used as a screen or divider
  4. a protective screen, usually plastic or metal, in front of the loudspeaker in a radio, record player, etc
  5. real tennis the opening in one corner of the receiver's end of the court
  6. a group of small pyramidal marks impressed in parallel rows into a stamp to prevent reuse
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Word Origin

C17: from Old French, from Latin crātīcula fine hurdlework, from crātis a hurdle
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 grill

n.

"gridiron," 1680s, from French gril, from Old French greil, alteration of graille "grill, frating, railings, fencing," from Latin craticula "gridiron, small griddle," diminutive of cratis "wickerwork," perhaps from PIE *kert- "to turn, entwine." In many instances, Modern English grill is a shortened form of grille, such as "chrome front of an automobile."

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v.

"to broil on a grill," 1660s, from grill (n.); figurative sense from 1842, and the specific (transitive) sense of "to subject to intense questioning" is first attested 1894. Related: Grilled; grilling.

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grille

n.

"ornamental grating," 1660s, from French grille (fem.) "grating," from Old French greille "gridiron," from Latin craticula "gridiron" (see grill). "The distinction in French between grille and grill ... appears to date from about the 16th c." [OED].

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper