- a variation of grille.
grill
1 Americannoun
-
a grated utensil for broiling meat, fish, vegetables, etc., over a fire; gridiron.
-
a dish of grilled meat, fish, etc.
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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.
verb (used with object)
-
grills,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grilled,
past participle, past
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grilling
present participle
-
to broil on a gridiron or other apparatus over or before a fire.
- Synonyms:
- barbecue
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to subject to severe and persistent cross-examination or questioning.
- Synonyms:
- probe, interrogate
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to torment with heat.
- Synonyms:
- torture
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to mark with a series of parallel bars like those of a grill.
verb (used without object)
-
grills,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grilled,
past participle, past
-
grilling
present participle
noun
verb
-
Usual US and Canadian word: broil. 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 way
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(tr; usually passive) to torment with or as if with extreme heat
the travellers were grilled by the scorching sun
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informal (tr) to subject to insistent or prolonged questioning
noun
-
a device with parallel bars of thin metal on which meat, fish, etc, may be cooked by a fire; gridiron
-
a device on a cooker that radiates heat downwards for grilling meat, fish, etc
-
food cooked by grilling
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See grillroom
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grillsimple
-
grillssimple
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have grilledperfect
-
has grilledperfect
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am grillingprogressive
-
are grillingprogressive
-
is grillingprogressive
-
have been grillingperfect progressive
-
has been grillingperfect progressive
Past
-
grilledsimple
-
had grilledperfect
-
was grillingprogressive
-
were grillingprogressive
-
had been grillingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grill
1660–70; 1890–95 grill 1 for def. 6; < French gril gridiron ≪ Latin crātīculum, creātīculō, diminutive of crātis wickerwork, hurdle. See grille
Explanation
Not all grilling involves fire and delicious food. Sometimes, to grill means to ask a person really intense questions, like when you suspect them of doing something wrong and you want to make them confess the truth. Ever seen a film where a police officer puts a bright light in a criminal’s face and screams, “Did you do it?” That’s how you grill someone. You have to be tough on him, and not let him off the hook too easily. Being grilled means you are in the “hot seat,” and it’ll feel like you’re cooking from such a close examination. Better to grill than be grilled, but if you get caught — think of an alibi, quick!
Vocabulary lists containing grill
Blanch, Poach, and Scald: Cooking Methods
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The Poet X
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Inquire Within: Synoynms for "Ask"
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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:
As orders flood into the restaurant via online food delivery services and a walk-up window, a butcher slices through whole chickens while one cook flips thin slabs of steak and chicken on a grill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
To make the protein pop, Conagra designed a custom marinade and added grill marks to the chicken breast slices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"This summer has become so hot that I feel like meat on the grill," the app's developer Yu Min-jun told BBC Korean.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
US lawmakers are expected to grill him over progress on lowering inflation in the world's biggest economy, among other issues.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
I ask Sneaky when some dude walks over to our spot carrying a grill.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
Hunched over sizzling grills and shrouded in smoke, trainees at the Yueyang Barbecue Academy in southern China roast skewer after skewer of succulent beef tendon, perfecting the skills that could land them a restaurant job.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
This July 4, millions of Americans will fire up their grills and cook plenty of burgers and steaks.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Outdoor cooking has never been more confusing, what with pellet smokers that call themselves grills and charcoal grills that require electricity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
She said the grills had worked as a deterrent, not only stopping drinkers from damaging her windows, but also preventing them from sitting on her window sills and putting their glasses on them.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
The new guy in charge of taking care of the place is fixing the lid on one of the grills.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
We would loiter, mostly, and eat the shredded beef nachos that I still think about to this day while the plastic of our high-top Converse grilled on the scalding asphalt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Schulman said he had been seeing “a consistent trade into premium proteins,” like pomegranate-glazed salmon or grilled steak, regardless of income bracket.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Tomato already knows butter from ghee-rich curries, grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup and Marcella Hazan’s famously spare sauce.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
She said it was "a tough one because I have a lot of palettes to appease", with her British-born husband favouring "meat, potatoes and cream sauce" while she preferred grilled fish.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
I wasn’t a grilled cheese sandwich, after all.
From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli
One question he faced during a four-hour grilling: How would he deal with his mother?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Don't worry about the dog, just answer the question," replied journalist Sarah Ferguson, who was grilling Joyce on his party leader Pauline Hanson's recent meeting with far-right British figurehead Tommy Robinson.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Rapport matters, and if you don’t have confidence in this guy when you are done politely grilling him like a hamburger on the Fourth of July, move on to someone who does.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
The Mibrasa Hibachi Table Top Grill is portable, maintains a fire for hours and makes grilling skewers, vegetables and even steaks feel like part of the entertainment.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
But even from a mile away, you could smell the chicken grilling as soon as you got out of the car.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
