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
Jim Reineking, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2025
The basketball program has flourished under coach Bruce Pearl at a time when the Tigers have struggled on the gridiron.
—Paul Newberry, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2025
Still adjusting to life as a Yankee, Chance Nolan had no clue that his new team had so many ties to the gridiron.
—Gary Phillips, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2025
Michelob Ultra and Stella Artois will also be advertised during the gridiron spectacular.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gridiron
Cite this Entry
“Gridiron.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gridiron. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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gridiron
noun
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