grid

noun

ˈgrid 

1

: grating

2

a(1)

: a perforated or ridged metal plate used as a conductor in a storage battery

(2)

: an electrode consisting of a mesh or a spiral of fine wire in an electron tube

(3)

: a network of conductors for distribution of electric power

also : a network of radio or television stations

b

: a network of uniformly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines (as for locating points on a map)

also : something resembling such a network

a road grid

c

: gridiron sense 3

broadly : football

3

: the starting positions of cars on a racecourse

4

: a device in a photocomposer on which are located the characters to be exposed as the text is composed

Examples of grid in a Sentence

The students plotted points on a grid.

The city streets form a grid.

Recent Examples on the Web

Companies appearing on the Norrsken/100 included those working on overhauling and strengthening grid capacity and transforming renewables storage. — Sophie Dembinski, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

When deployed in numbers, Archimedes units form a resilient defense grid, creating persistent protection for forces, facilities, and critical infrastructure. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

The counterbalance is both Eaton and GE Vernova stand to benefit from the electric grid overhaul that needs to happen, irrespective of AI. — Alexa Lomonaco,kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

Today’s Theme There’s a terrific novelty to the presentation of this grid. — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from gridiron

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing grid

• cattle grid
• micro-grid
• off-grid
• off-the-grid

Rhymes for grid

• bid
• did
• hid
• id
• lid
• mid
• quid
• rid
• skid
• slid
• squid
• amid

Kids Definition

grid

noun

ˈgrid 

1

: grating sense 1

2

: a metal plate used as a conductor in a storage battery

3

: an element of an electron tube consisting of a network of fine wire

4

: a network of horizontal and perpendicular lines (as for locating points on a map using coordinates or for counting a sample of particles or organisms on a microscope slide)

5

: a network of conductors for distribution of electrical power

also : a network of radio or television stations