grill

/ɡɹɪl/

//ɡɹɪl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"grill" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“grill” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #9,049) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#9,049
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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 throug...

Corpus desk

Index EN-grill · grill · English

grill · rank #9,049 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,049
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH goose

Nearest frequency peer: goose (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “grill”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “grill” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

grill vs grip
60% similar
grill vs grim
60% similar
grill vs grin
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for grill
PropertyValue
Headwordgrill
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɹɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,049
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “grill”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).grilllands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “goose” (#9,048), “grounded” (#9,050), “genetics” (#9,047). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “grill” is #9,049. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for grill is neighbouring look-alikes ("grip", "grim", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɡɹɪl/. Frequency #9,049 among 2,313 “G” headwords. 10 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for grill, with forms such as "ggrill", "grlil", and "grrill". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "grip", "grim", "grin", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is grill, spelled G-R-I-L-L.

Definition

  1. 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. 2
    The criss-cross pieces that separate panes of glass in a window.
  3. 3
    On a vehicle, a slotted cover as above, to protect and hide the radiator, while admitting air to cool it.
  4. 4
    A cooking device comprising a source of radiative heat and a means of holding food under it; a broiler in US English
  5. 5
    A cooking device comprising a source of radiative and convective heat and a means of holding food above it; a barbecue.
  6. 6
    Food (designed to be) cooked on a grill.
  7. 7
    A grillroom; a restaurant serving grilled food.
  8. 8
    A type of jewelry worn on the front teeth.
  9. 9
    The front teeth regarded collectively.
  10. 10
    Deliberate misspelling of girl.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how grill appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door.
  2. I put some peppers and mushrooms on the grill to go with dinner.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

rejilla(Español)grille(Français)Grill(Deutsch)grelha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggrill
  • grlil
  • grrill
  • rgill

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grill - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ggrill1grlil2grrill1rgill2
Edit distance from "grill"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "grill"?
"grill" is spelled G-R-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹɪl/.
What does "grill" mean?
As a noun, "grill" means: 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 throug...
What words are commonly confused with "grill"?
"grill" is commonly confused with "grip", "grim", "grin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "grill"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grill" is /ɡɹɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "grill"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "grill", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

goose#9,048Felix#9,044exile#9,042Johns#9,059

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list