grill
/ɡɹɪl/
"grill" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“grill” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,049 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,049
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | grill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡɹɪl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #9,049 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grill” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for grill is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, 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 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
- 1A 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.
- 2The criss-cross pieces that separate panes of glass in a window.
- 3On a vehicle, a slotted cover as above, to protect and hide the radiator, while admitting air to cool it.
- 4A cooking device comprising a source of radiative heat and a means of holding food under it; a broiler in US English
- 5A cooking device comprising a source of radiative and convective heat and a means of holding food above it; a barbecue.
- 6Food (designed to be) cooked on a grill.
- 7A grillroom; a restaurant serving grilled food.
- 8A type of jewelry worn on the front teeth.
- 9The front teeth regarded collectively.
- 10Deliberate 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
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.
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"?
What does "grill" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "grill"?
How do you pronounce "grill"?
What is the origin of the word "grill"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “grill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “grip” - see the side-by-side comparison. grill vs grip
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.