gridiron
noun
Did you know?
Are you ready for some football... lingo? Excellent, and if your big game preparations involve firing up a griddle at a tailgate party, even better—American football shares linguistic ties with that form of cookery. One of the oldest senses of gridiron referred not to a football field but to a metal grate used for broiling food over an open fire. In Middle English, such a grating was called a gredil, a root that gave modern English both gridiron and griddle. How did gridiron become associated with football? That happened in the late 1800s, when early football fields were marked in a grid, not by the familiar parallel yard lines we know today. From high up in the stands, the lines made the playing fields look like cooking gridirons. You might remember this the next time your favorite player is hotdogging in the end zone.
Examples of gridiron in a Sentence
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 16 Feb. 2026
These are the streamer's best shows and movies celebrating gridiron glory.
—Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Feb. 2026
The public sniping continued even as play unfolded on the gridiron.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Love starred on the gridiron at the University of Notre Dame for three years and then was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round, and played four years for the Giants before signing a two-year, $12 million contract with the Seahawks.
—Hank Beckman, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gridiron
Cite this Entry
“Gridiron.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gridiron. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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gridiron
noun
