What does grilled mean?
Grilled is the past-tense and past-participle form of grill and is used most often as an adjective for food cooked directly over or beneath a hot grate. In this sense, it indicates that a grill or gridiron was the source of the heat. Grilled can also mean questioned persistently and at length, especially in an informal context, as when a reporter grills a witness or a suspect is grilled by police. The cooking sense is neutral and common in both British and American English, while the interrogation sense is vivid and usually conversational or journalistic. The word can function as a verb as well: “They grilled the vegetables” describes cooking, and “She grilled him about the delay” describes intense questioning. Because the two senses share the same form, context determines the intended meaning. Grilled is therefore useful for describing both a familiar culinary technique and the figurative pressure of a demanding interview.
Cooked directly on a grill or gridiron; alternatively, subjected to persistent and intense questioning.
"The grilled eggplant was served with tahini and fresh herbs."
The culinary use is neutral and standard. The questioning sense is usually informal or journalistic.
Cooked food directly on a grill or gridiron, or questioned someone persistently and intensely.
"She grilled the candidates about their experience during the interview."
This is the past tense and third-person singular present form of grill.
Grilled has a double life: it can describe food sizzling over a grate—or a witness enduring very pointed questions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does grilled come from?
The English verb grill came through French gril, meaning a gridiron or grate, from Latin craticula, a diminutive of cratis, meaning wickerwork or a lattice. In English, grilled developed as the past tense and past participle of grill, with the culinary sense eventually joined by a figurative use for sustained, searching questioning. Related words include grille, which preserves the same French and Latin source, and craticule, borrowed from Latin craticula; crate also ultimately belongs to the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How grilled is actually used
The culinary sense is neutral and standard in British and American English. The questioning sense is usually informal, journalistic, or figurative, and it often suggests sustained or uncomfortable questioning.