grill

English Online Dictionary. What means grill‎? What does grill mean?

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹɪl/
• Rhymes: -ɪl

Etymology 1

1655, from French gril, from Middle French gril, from Old French greïl, graïl (“gridiron”), from graïlle (“grate, grating”), from Latin crātīcula (“gridiron”), diminutive of crātis (“hurdle, wickerwork”), q.v. Related to griddle, hurdle.

Alternative forms

• grille (only in sense of "grating")

Noun

grill (plural grills or (jewelry) grillz)

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. The criss-cross pieces that separate panes of glass in a window.
3. On a vehicle, a slotted cover as above, to protect and hide the radiator, while admitting air to cool it.
4. (UK) A cooking device comprising a source of radiative heat and a means of holding food under it; a broiler in US English
5. (US) A cooking device comprising a source of radiative and convective heat and a means of holding food above it; a barbecue.

6. Food (designed to be) cooked on a grill.

7. A grillroom; a restaurant serving grilled food.
9. (colloquial) A type of jewelry worn on the front teeth.

   Synonyms: fronts, golds
10. (colloquial, by extension) The front teeth regarded collectively.
11. (Internet slang, humorous) Deliberate misspelling of girl.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

grill (third-person singular simple present grills, present participle grilling, simple past and past participle grilled)

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

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cook

2. (transitive, Australia, New Zealand, UK) To cook food under the element of a stove or only under the top element of an oven – (US) broil, (cooking) salamander.
3. (transitive, colloquial) To interrogate; to question aggressively or harshly.
4. (intransitive, informal) To feel very hot; to swelter.
5. (transitive) To stamp or mark with a grill.
6. (New York City) To stare at.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English grillen (“to anger, provoke”), from Old English grillan, griellan (“to annoy, vex, offend”), from Proto-West Germanic *gralljan (“to shout, make angry”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian grulje (“to make angry”), Dutch grillen (“to shudder, shiver”), Low German vergrellen (“to anger, provoke”), German grollen (“to rumble”) and perhaps also with French grouiller (“to swarm”).

Alternative forms

• girl (Scotland)

Verb

grill (third-person singular simple present grills, present participle grilling, simple past and past participle grilled)

1. (transitive, Scotland, US, obsolete) To make angry; provoke; offend, incite.

   Synonyms: instigate; see also Thesaurus:enrage, Thesaurus:incite

2. (transitive, chiefly Scotland, obsolete) To terrify; make tremble.

   Synonyms: scare; see also Thesaurus:frighten

3. (intransitive, chiefly Scotland, obsolete) To tremble; shiver.

   Synonyms: palpitate, quiver, shudder

4. (intransitive, Northern England, Scotland, obsolete) To snarl; snap.

Etymology 3

From Middle English gril, grille (“harsh, rough, severe”), from Old English *grielle, from Proto-West Germanic *grallī (“angry”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to rattle, make a noise, grumble”). Cognate with German grell (“harsh, angry”), Danish grel (“shrill, glaring, dazzling”).

Adjective

grill (comparative griller or more grill, superlative grillest or most grill)

1. (obsolete) Harsh, rough, severe; cruel.

Etymology 4

From Middle English grille, from Old English *grylla, *griella, from Proto-West Germanic *gralljō.

Noun

grill (usually uncountable, plural grills)

1. (obsolete) Harm.

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “grill”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan grill, from Latin gryllus (compare Occitan gril, Spanish grillo), probably from Ancient Greek γρύλλος (grúllos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɡɾiʎ]

Noun

grill m (plural grills)

1. cricket (insect)
2. sprout, shoot (new growth from a tuber or bulb)
3. segment, section (of a citrus fruit or a nut)

References

• “grill” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “grill”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “grill” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “grill” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Alternative forms

• gril (unofficial)

Etymology

Borrowed from English grill.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣrɪl/
• Hyphenation: grill
• Rhymes: -ɪl

Noun

grill m (plural grills, diminutive grilletje n)

1. grill

French

Pronunciation

Noun

grill m (plural grills)

1. grill (restaurant)

Further reading

• “grill”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrɪl/
• Rhymes: -ɪl

Etymology 1

From English grill, grille, from French gril (“grill”), grille (“gate, grate, grid”), from Middle French grille, grisle, from Old French greille, graïlle, from earlier gradilie, from Latin crāticula (“grill, grating, griddle”) (or Vulgar Latin graticula), diminutive of crātis (“wickerwork, bundle of brush, fascine”), possibly either from Proto-Indo-European *kr̥tis, from *kert- (“to weave, twist together”), or from *kréh₂-tis.

Noun

grill m (definite singular grillen, indefinite plural griller, definite plural grillene)

1. (cooking) a grill
2. (automotive) a radiator grille

Related terms

• grille (cooking)

Etymology 2

Verb

grill

1. imperative of grille

References

• “grill” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French grille, gril, via English grill, grille.

Noun

grill m (definite singular grillen, indefinite plural grillar, definite plural grillane)

1. (cooking) a grill
2. (automotive) a radiator grille

References

• “grill” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English grill.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡril/, /ˈɡrɘl/
• Rhymes: -il, -ɘl
• Syllabification: grill

Noun

grill m inan

1. barbecue, grill (cooking device)

   Synonyms: ruszt, barbecue

2. barbecue (event with meal, typically held outdoors)

   Synonym: barbecue

3. grill of a car

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• grill in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• grill in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English grill.

Noun

grill m (plural grills)

1. grill

Further reading

• “grill”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English grill, from French gril, from Latin crāticula.

Noun

grill c

2. a grill (barbecue)
3. a grill (restaurant serving grilled food)
5. a grille (on a vehicle)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

• grilla
• grillning

Noun

grill c

1. (normally in the plural griller) A strange idea

2. (slang, normally in the plural griller) An ice skate

   Synonyms: skridsko, (slang) skrilla, (variant) grilla

Declension

See also

• griller
• inbillning
• påhitt

References

• grill in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• grill in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• grill in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)