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

Power availability, grid connectivity and equipment delays remain as key challenges for data center development, according to a Thursday report from risk advisory and insurance brokerage WTW. — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026

His previous grid played with the NATO alphabet; today’s puzzle has fun with a different writing system. — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2026

The figure covers Scope 1 and 2 emissions, from fuel burned in factory boilers to electricity purchased from the grid. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2026

The valuations also benefit from the extreme scarcity of the assets, with only 11 teams after the addition of Cadillac to the grid in 2026. — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 5 Nov. 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