gridvsgrillWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“grid” and “grill” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,330
“grid” frequency rank
#9,049
“grill” frequency rank
14379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grid grill
Definition A rectangular array of squares or rectangles of equal size, such as in a crossword puzzle. 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.

Where the eye mixes grid and grill

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
grid
5 ch
grill

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. grid (/ɡɹɪd/) and grill (/ɡɹɪl/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grid is recorded at frequency rank #5,330, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹɪd/. grill is at rank #9,049, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹɪl/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 14379, this pair ranks #470,399 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of grid vs grill

Shared letters: gir. Private to "grid": d. Private to "grill": l.

"grid" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "grill" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gridggrid · gird · grdi · gridd · grrid · rgid
  • grillggrill · grlil · grrill · rgill

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grid" and "grill" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɡɹɪd/ versus /ɡɹɪl/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "grid" or "grill"?
"grid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,330 in our English list, against #9,049 for "grill". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list