grill

UK: /ˈgrɪl/ US: /grɪl/ ,(gril)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

grill¹ /grɪl/   n. [countable]

1. an apparatus with a grated metal framework for cooking food over direct heat, as a gas or charcoal fire.
2. Food a metal grate for broiling food over a fire;
   gridiron.
3. Food a dish of grilled meat, fish, vegetables, etc.
4. a restaurant, or a part of a restaurant, where grilled food is served.

v. [~ + object]

5. Food to broil on a grill:
   We'll grill a steak.
6. to ask (someone) questions in a hostile, severe, and persistent way:
   The lawyer grilled the witness.

grill² /grɪl/   n. 

1. grille.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

grill¹  (gril), n. 

1. Food a grated utensil for broiling meat, fish, vegetables, etc., over a fire;
   gridiron.
2. Food a dish of grilled meat, fish, etc. Cf. mixed grill.
3. grillroom.
4. Stamps [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.

v.t. 

5. Food to broil on a gridiron or other apparatus over or before a fire.
6. to subject to severe and persistent cross-examination or questioning.
7. to torment with heat.
8. to mark with a series of parallel bars like those of a grill.

v.i. 

9. Food to undergo broiling.

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

Synonyms

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

grill²  (gril), n. 

1. Sport grille.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

grill / ɡrɪl/ 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 way
   Usual US and Canadian word: broil
2. (tr; usually passive) to torment with or as if with extreme heat: the travellers were grilled by the scorching sun
3. (transitive) to subject to insistent or prolonged questioning

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

Etymology: 17th Century: from French gril gridiron, from Latin crātīcula fine wickerwork; see grille

ˈgriller noun

grill / ɡrɪl/ noun

1. a variant spelling of grille

Etymology: 17th Century: see grille

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

grille or grill /grɪl/   n. [countable]

1. a grating or barrier, as for a gate, usually of metal and often of decorative design.
2. Automotive an opening covered by a grill for admitting air to cool the engine of an automobile or the like.
3. Cryptography a screen used to cover something, as a loudspeaker.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

grille  (gril), n. 

1. a grating or openwork barrier, as for a gate, usually of metal and often of decorative design.
2. Automotive an opening, usually covered by grillwork, for admitting air to cool the engine of an automobile or the like;
   radiator grille.
3. Cryptography 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. Sport [Court Tennis.] a square-shaped winning opening on the hazard side of the court. Cf. dedans (def. 1), winning gallery. 

Also, grill. 

• Late Latin *gratīcula, Latin crātīcula (compare Old Provencal grazilha), diminutive of crātis
• French, Old French
• 1655–65

grilled, adj. 

gril•lé  (Fr. grē yā′), adj. 

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

Also, gril•lée′. 

• French: grilled; see grille
• 1680–90

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

grille, grill / 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

Etymology: 17th Century: from Old French, from Latin crātīcula fine hurdlework, from crātis a hurdle