grill
gb/ɡɹˈɪl/ us/ɡɹˈɪl/
A2
English
~ 6100
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B1
action
1
Cook food on a grill
To cook food over strong heat, usually on metal bars above a fire or heat source.
Usage pattern:
to grill [food] (for [time])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "grill" with "fry" or "bake". "Grill" means cooking with strong direct heat, usually from below (or from above in an oven), not in a pan full of oil (fry) and not with gentle all‑around heat in an oven (bake).
Synonyms
barbecue (Often suggests outdoor cooking with smoke and a social event.)
|
broil (Mainly American English for cooking with strong top heat in an oven.)
Antonyms
boil (Means to cook food in hot water instead of over direct dry heat.)
Collocations
grill chicken
|grill vegetables
|grill a steak
|preheat the grill
|grill over medium heat
|grill on both sides
Themes
food
|cooking
|daily_life
|food_drink
Examples
- We usually grill burgers in the backyard on summer evenings.
- Brush the fish with oil before you grill it.
- She grilled the peppers until their skins were blackened and blistered.
- The chef likes to grill the steak over charcoal for extra flavor.
- You can grill the vegetables on skewers to keep them from falling through.
Learner examples
- Let’s grill some burgers for dinner.
- He grilled the fish for ten minutes on each side.
- I like to grill vegetables instead of frying them.
- Please grill the chicken until it is fully cooked.
- We grilled hot dogs outside at the party.
Noun
A2
entity
2
Cooking device with metal bars
A machine or tool for cooking food on metal bars over strong heat.
Usage pattern:
cook [food] on the grill
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse the cooking device "grill" with the cooking method "to grill". As a noun, it is the object you cook on; as a verb, it is the action of cooking with it.
Synonyms
barbecue (Often refers specifically to an outdoor grill and the social event around it.)
Antonyms
oven (An enclosed cooker that uses surrounding heat rather than open direct heat from below.)
Collocations
gas grill
|charcoal grill
|electric grill
|clean the grill
|put burgers on the grill
|outdoor grill
Themes
food
|cooking
|home
|food_drink
Examples
- I scrubbed the grill after we finished cooking.
- They bought a new gas grill for the patio.
- The burgers are already on the grill.
- Make sure the grill is hot before you start.
- We keep the grill covered when it rains.
Learner examples
- He cooked the meat on the grill.
- We have a small electric grill in the kitchen.
- Please clean the grill after you use it.
- She put the fish on the grill.
- They keep the grill on the balcony.
Verb
B2
action
3
Question someone intensely
To ask someone many strong, detailed questions for a long time.
Usage pattern:
to grill [someone] (about [something])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "grill" in this sense is positive, but it usually suggests pressure and discomfort. It is stronger than simply "ask" or "question" and often feels aggressive.
Synonyms
interrogate (More formal and often used about police, military, or official questioning.)
Antonyms
ignore (To deliberately pay no attention or ask no questions, the opposite of intense questioning.)
Collocations
grill a suspect
|grill someone about
|grill the witness
|reporters grilled the minister
|grilled by the police
Themes
communication
|law
|crime
Examples
- Detectives grilled the suspect for six hours.
- The reporter grilled the CEO about the company’s safety record.
- My parents grilled me about where I had been all night.
- The committee spent the morning grilling the minister over the scandal.
- She hates being grilled about her personal life at family dinners.
Learner examples
- The police grilled him for a long time.
- My dad grilled me about my new boyfriend.
- Reporters grilled the player after the game.
- The teacher grilled the students about the test rules.
- They grilled her about how she spent the money.
Noun
B1
entity
4
Casual restaurant serving grilled food
A simple, not very expensive restaurant that sells meat and other food cooked on a grill.
Usage pattern:
eat at [name] Grill
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "grill" always means only the cooking device. In names like "Tom’s Grill" it usually means a type of casual restaurant.
Synonyms
diner (A casual, often American-style restaurant; a diner may serve a wider range of foods, not just grilled items.)
Antonyms
fine-dining restaurant (A formal, expensive restaurant, the opposite of a simple casual grill.)
Collocations
bar and grill
|sports grill
|family grill
|downtown grill
|neighborhood grill
Themes
food
|business
|travel
|food_drink
|daily_life
Examples
- We met at a little bar and grill near the stadium.
- The hotel has a rooftop grill that’s open all summer.
- There’s a new seafood grill on the corner.
- They run a family grill that’s popular with locals.
- We stopped at a roadside grill for lunch.
Learner examples
- We had dinner at a small grill near our hotel.
- They opened a new grill in our town.
- The grill is famous for its steaks.
- Let’s meet at the sports grill after work.
- Our hotel has a grill on the first floor.
Noun
B2
entity
5
Protective or decorative framework
A hard cover with bars or many holes that protects or decorates the front of something, like a car or a vent.
Usage pattern:
the [car/vent/speaker] grill
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this meaning with the cooking grill. Context helps: if it’s about a car, window, or speaker, it is a protective cover, not cooking equipment.
Synonyms
grille (An alternative spelling often used in technical or design contexts, especially for cars.)
Antonyms
solid panel (A flat, unbroken surface without openings, the opposite of a framework with holes or bars.)
Collocations
car grill
|front grill
|radiator grill
|speaker grill
|metal grill
Themes
technology
|transport
|home
|transportation
Examples
- The car’s front grill was damaged in the minor collision.
- Dust had built up on the air vent grill.
- He removed the speaker grill to fix the wiring.
- The shop installed metal grills over the windows for security.
- A distinctive chrome grill is part of the brand’s design.
Learner examples
- The car’s grill is broken.
- Please clean the dust from the air grill.
- There is a metal grill over the window.
- The speaker grill is black and round.
- They put a strong grill in front of the door.
Noun
slang
C1
entity
6
Decorative jewelry for teeth
Shiny jewelry that some people wear over their front teeth, usually made of metal and sometimes diamonds.
Usage pattern:
wear a [adjective] grill
Common mistake:
Learners may think this always refers to cooking because of the basic meaning. In slang, "grill" (or "grillz") can also be a type of shiny tooth jewelry.
Synonyms
grillz (A slang spelling often used in hip-hop culture; usually plural, but refers to the same type of tooth jewelry.)
Antonyms
natural teeth (Teeth without any decorative cover or jewelry.)
Collocations
gold grill
|diamond grill
|flash his grill
|wearing a grill
Themes
fashion
|music
|youth_culture
|clothing
|body
Examples
- The rapper showed off his new diamond grill in the video.
- He took out his grill before eating.
- Her gold grill matched the rest of her jewelry.
- The jeweler specializes in custom grills for musicians.
- He smiled wide so everyone could see his grill.
Learner examples
- The singer wears a gold grill on his teeth.
- He took off his grill at home.
- She bought a new diamond grill.
- His grill is very bright when he smiles.
- Many rappers like to wear grills.
Noun
slang
C2
entity
7
Slang for someone’s face
Informal slang word for a person’s face, especially the front with the mouth and teeth.
Usage pattern:
in [someone]’s grill
Common mistake:
This slang meaning is easy to misunderstand as the cooking or questioning sense. It mainly appears in informal spoken English, often in expressions like "in my grill" or "up in my grill", meaning very close to someone’s face in an annoying way.
Synonyms
face (Standard neutral word; "grill" is slang and often used in confrontational contexts.)
Antonyms
back of the head (Refers to the opposite side of the head from the face.)
Collocations
in my grill
|up in his grill
|right in her grill
Themes
body
|slang
|emotions
|communication
Examples
- He got right up in my grill and started shouting.
- Why are you all up in my grill this morning?
- She told him to get out of her grill before there was a problem.
- Don’t be in my grill when I’m trying to work.
- He leaned in, his grill only inches from mine.
Learner examples
- He was all in my grill, and I felt angry.
- She told him, “Get out of my grill!”
- Don’t get in my grill like that.
- The man came close, right in his grill.
- They were nose to nose, in each other’s grills.
Grammar
Dictionary form
grill
IPA
GB/ɡɹˈɪl/
US/ɡɹˈɪl/
Syllables & stress
grill (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (grill)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: grill
- Plural: grills
Verb
- Base: grill
- 3rd Person Singular: grills
- Present Participle: grilling
- Past: grilled
Word family
Forms
grills
noun
grilling
verb
grilled
verb
Expressions
be on the grill
1/bˈi ˈɔn ðə ɡɹˈɪl/
idiom
informal
Be under harsh questioning
To be in a situation where people are asking you many hard questions or judging you very closely.
Examples
- The minister was on the grill for most of the press conference.
- I was on the grill all morning in that performance review.
fire up the grill
1/fˈaɪɚ ˈʌp ðə ɡɹˈɪl/
fixed phrase
Start heating the grill
To light or turn on the grill so that it becomes hot and ready for cooking.
Examples
- Let’s fire up the grill and make some burgers.
- He fired up the grill while she prepared the salad.
grill out
1/ɡɹˈɪl ˈaʊt/
phrasal verb
informal
Cook and eat outside on a grill
To cook food outside on a grill and usually eat it there, like having a small barbecue.
Examples
- We’re going to grill out by the lake this weekend.
- They love to grill out whenever the weather is nice.
grill someone about something
1/ɡɹˈɪl sˈʌmwˌʌn əbˈaʊt sˈʌmθɪŋ/
fixed phrase
Question someone hard about details
To ask a person many strong, detailed questions about a particular thing.
Examples
- The journalist grilled the mayor about the rising crime rate.
- My parents grilled me about my plans for the weekend.
in someone’s grill
1/ˈɪn sˈʌmwˌʌnz ɡɹˈɪl/
idiom
slang
Very close to someone’s face
To be right in front of someone’s face in a way that feels strong, pushy, or annoying.
Examples
- He was all in my grill, yelling about the mistake.
- Don’t get in her grill unless you want an argument.
put someone on the grill
1/pˈʊt sˈʌmwˌʌn ˈɔn ðə ɡɹˈɪl/
idiom
informal
Subject someone to hard questioning
To make someone answer many difficult questions, often in a way that feels very hard or uncomfortable.
Examples
- The committee really put the director on the grill over the budget cuts.
- My boss put me on the grill about the missed deadline.
throw something on the grill
1/θɹˈoʊ sˈʌmθɪŋ ˈɔn ðə ɡɹˈɪl/
fixed phrase
Put food onto the grill
To quickly put food on the hot grill so it can cook.
Examples
- We can just throw some veggies on the grill too.
- He threw a few sausages on the grill for a quick snack.
up in someone’s grill
1/ˈʌp ˈɪn sˈʌmwˌʌnz ɡɹˈɪl/
idiom
slang
Aggressively in someone’s face
To be very, very close to someone’s face in a way that feels aggressive or rude.
Examples
- She got right up in his grill and told him to leave.
- Why are you up in my grill this early in the morning?