grille

¹

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.

grillé

²

or gril·lée

[ French gree-yey ]

adjective

1. cooked on a grill; broiled.
2. Textiles. having an ornamental bar or grate pattern across the open areas of a lace motif.

grille

/ ɡrɪl /

noun

1. Also calledgrillwork a framework, esp of metal bars arranged to form an ornamental pattern, used as a screen or partition
2. Also calledradiator 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

Other Words From

• grilled adjective
• un·grilled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grille¹

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

Origin of grille²

1680–90; < French: grilled; grille

Word History and Origins

Origin of grille¹

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

Example Sentences

Davis and intern Carolina Chatterton were at the D.C. restaurant Capital Grille when they met a group of suited men.

From The Daily Beast

Nobu, Hakkasan, BLT Steak, Capital Grille, Asia de Cuba, Mr. Chow—the list goes on and on.

From The Daily Beast

Friends make dinner reservations at the Oyster Bar and Grille in Oak Bluffs.

From The Daily Beast

And indeed, it mattered little to her—an Eastern woman whose life was usually bounded by a grille.

From Project Gutenberg

Had the automatic snout poking through the steel grille of the rear of the cage.

From Project Gutenberg

The mouth of a junction tunnel ran less than two feet away from that grille.

From Project Gutenberg

At last his determination triumphed, and the grille swung out, to fall with an appalling clatter to the floor.

From Project Gutenberg

Michael was pleased to observe a grille through which peered the eyes of the monastic porter, inquisitive of the wayfarers.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arbor
• lattice