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• grille
  grille

  noun

  a grating or openwork barrier, as for a gate, usually of metal and often of decorative design.
• grillé
  grillé

  adjective

  cooked on a grill; broiled.

grille

¹ American  

[gril] / grɪl /

Or grill

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.

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grillé ² American  

[gree-yay] / griˈjeɪ /

Or grillée

adjective

1. cooked on a grill; broiled.

2. Textiles. having an ornamental bar or grate pattern across the open areas of a lace motif.

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grille British  

/ ɡrɪl /

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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Other Word Forms

• grilled
  adjective
• ungrilled
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of grille¹

1655–65; < French, Old French < Late Latin *gratīcula, Latin crātīcula (compare Old Provençal grazilha ), diminutive of crātis

Origin of grillé²

1680–90; < French: grilled; see grille

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grille

Yet the series allows Lilypad to be a more sympathetic antagonist than the teddy bear it once tied to the grille of a garbage truck in “Toy Story 3.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

You’re telling me engineers were chasing fractional gains in aero drag around the wheel wells with that grille hanging in the breeze?

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

Few automobile exteriors are ever finished like this, with its broad, sterling-like chrome garnishes at the lower grille intakes, the rocker panels, exhaust outlets and bumpers, all smoothed perfectly into the blown-glass curvatures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Since the theft the museum has taken several emergency measures, including replacing the grille used by the thieves as Des Cars sought to focus on a major "Louvre -- New Renaissance" renovation of the site.

From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026

It was a modest vehicle, square and bulky in the manner of a Dodge, so long in front as to look out of balance and with its radiator grille low over the bumper.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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Related Words

• framework
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