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grill

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "grill", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "grill" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "grill" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

grill is aEnglishnoun. It 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... Pronounced /ɡɹɪl/. It ranks #9,049 in English word frequency. Often confused with grip and grim.

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

Frequency rank visualization

Position of grill in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for grill is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,049 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for grill, with forms such as "ggrill", "grlil", and "grrill". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, 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, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

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. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is grill, spelled G-R-I-L-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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.

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

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ggrill,grlil,grrill,rgill

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for grill

Misspelling Variants of "grill"

ggrill6grlil5grrill6rgill5
Misspelling Variants of "grill"

Frequency rank: #9,049 in English

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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter G in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.