# gridiron

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡɹɪdaɪən/ · frequency rank #43,677

## Definitions
1. An instrument of torture on which people were secured before being burned by fire.
2. An iron rack or grate used for broiling meat and fish over coals.

## Etymology
From Middle English gridirne, gredirne, gredyron, gredeyron, grydern, grydyryne, girdirin, girderen, variants of Middle English gredire, gredyre, itself an alteration of Middle English gridel (“griddle”). The ending was assimilated to iron, as if from grid + iron, whence grid was later derived.

## Common misspellings (12)
`ggridiron`, `girdiron`, `grdiiron`, `griddiron`, `gridiorn`, `gridirno`, `gridironn`, `gridirron`, `gridrion`, `griidron`, `grridiron`, `rgidiron`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gridiron