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grill

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

gril
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡɹɪl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and liquids. Typical uses: to allow air through a fan while preventing fingers or objects from passing; to allow people to talk to somebody, while preventing attack.

  2. uk

    A cooking device comprising a source of radiative heat and a means of holding food under it; a broiler in US English

  3. us

    A cooking device comprising a source of radiative and convective heat and a means of holding food above it; a barbecue.

  4. On a vehicle, a slotted cover as above, to protect and hide the radiator, while admitting air to cool it.

  5. colloquial

    A type of jewelry worn on the front teeth.

  6. colloquialby extension

    The front teeth regarded collectively.

verb

  1. transitiveAustraliaNew ZealandUK

    To cook food under the element of a stove or only under the top element of an oven – (US) broil, (cooking) salamander.

  2. transitivecolloquial

    To interrogate; to question aggressively or harshly.

  3. intransitiveinformal

    To feel very hot; to swelter.

  4. Cook over or under a grill

  5. transitive

    To cook (food) on a grill; to barbecue.

  6. transitive

    To stamp or mark with a grill.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

More ways to use grill

  • “He cooked hamburgers on the grill.”noun
  • “The student was grilled for two hours on the subject of phonology.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Cooking / restaurant

barbecue grillhot grill

Other combinations

grill roomcharcoal grilliron grilloutdoor grillgrill rackgrill pan

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • grillingnounInflected form

    Cooking by direct exposure to radiant heat (as over a fire or under a grill).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: grating

grillegrillworkRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.