gridiron

[grid-ahy-ern] /ˈgrɪdˌaɪ ərn/
noun
1.
a football field.
2.
a utensil consisting of parallel metal bars on which to broil meat or other food.
3.
any framework or network resembling a gridiron.
4.
a structure above the stage of a theater, from which hung scenery and the like are manipulated.
verb (used with object)
5.
to mark off into squares or design with a network of squares.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English gridirne, gridir(e), gridere, variant of gridel griddle; variants in -irne, -ire, etc. are associated by folk etymology with ModE variant irne, ire iron
Examples from the web for gridiron
  • Meanwhile he took the mutton off the gridiron, and gravely handed it round.
  • If it doesn't have visibility on its own academic merits then no gridiron glory will help.
  • The quarters were twelve minutes long and the referees spoke in accents unfamiliar to the gridiron.
  • Also, the soccer pitch is vaster than the gridiron or the diamond, and the choreography of the game demands the widest of angles.
  • Aside from his prowess on the gridiron, he earned a law degree and changed the direction of his career.
  • Along a gridiron pattern of streets, rows of trees were planted to mark streets and property lines.
British Dictionary definitions for gridiron

gridiron

/ˈɡrɪdˌaɪən/
noun
1.
a utensil of parallel metal bars, used to grill meat, fish, etc
2.
any framework resembling this utensil
3.
a framework above the stage in a theatre from which suspended scenery, lights, etc, are manipulated
4.
  1. the field of play in American football
  2. an informal name for American football
  3. (as modifier): a gridiron hero
Often shortened to grid
Word Origin
C13 gredire, perhaps variant (through influence of ireiron) of gredilegriddle
Word Origin and History for gridiron
n.

cooking utensil, early 14c., griderne, alteration (by association with iron) of gridire (late 13c.), a variant of gridil (see griddle). Confusion of "l" and "r" was common in Norman dialect. Also a medieval instrument of torture by fire. As the word for a U.S. football field, by 1896, for its lines.

Slang definitions & phrases for gridiron

grid

modifier

: the grid squad/ gridiron victories

noun

A football field