grid

noun

ˈgrid 

1

: grating

2

a(1)

: a perforated or ridged metal plate used as a conductor in a storage battery

(2)

: an electrode consisting of a mesh or a spiral of fine wire in an electron tube

(3)

: a network of conductors for distribution of electric power

also : a network of radio or television stations

b

: a network of uniformly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines (as for locating points on a map)

also : something resembling such a network

a road grid

c

: gridiron sense 3

broadly : football

3

: the starting positions of cars on a racecourse

4

: a device in a photocomposer on which are located the characters to be exposed as the text is composed

Examples of grid in a Sentence

The students plotted points on a grid.

The city streets form a grid.

Recent Examples on the Web

This is the second time the island's power grid has collapsed in less than a month. Rafael strengthened into a Category 2 and then Category 3 hurricane Wednesday. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024

Fleece Quarter-Zip Pullover for $49 ($99) $49 at REI For folks in need of a high-output fleece, the OR Vigor checks all the boxes with its moisture-wicking grid pattern. —Emily Pennington, Outside Online, 6 Nov. 2024

Power companies, grid experts, tech giants and policymakers are grappling with the fallout after federal regulators late Friday rejected an Amazon effort to power one of its data centers with a nearby nuclear power plant. —Alan Neuhauser, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024

Related article Attacks on US power grid have been subject of extremist chatter for years. —Karina Tsui, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from gridiron

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing grid

• cattle grid
• micro-grid
• off-grid
• off-the-grid

Kids Definition

grid

noun

ˈgrid 

1

: grating sense 1

2

: a metal plate used as a conductor in a storage battery

3

: an element of an electron tube consisting of a network of fine wire

4

: a network of horizontal and perpendicular lines (as for locating points on a map using coordinates or for counting a sample of particles or organisms on a microscope slide)

5

: a network of conductors for distribution of electrical power

also : a network of radio or television stations