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
Editorial, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026
Pick out the attendance from any three home games on the football schedule, and the gridiron attendance far exceeds that number with just half of its home slate.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 16 Mar. 2026
And succeeding as a leader in America today takes not only a special person with traits like authenticity and trustworthiness, but also a support system that is increasingly elusive — from the halls of Congress to the football gridiron.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Philip Rivers was even called upon to make his shocking return to the gridiron, but the Colts couldn’t make the playoffs despite starting 8-2.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Mar. 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 Mar. 2026.
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gridiron
noun
