1
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
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The shirt, approved by the FIA for WEC and F1, is made by Chillout Motorsports and is by far the most widely used cooling device in motorsport, used across the grid at Sunday’s F1 Italian Grand Prix. Patrick Iversen, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026 Beyond that, Illinois has now fallen behind Republican states such as Texas that have paused to assess data centers’ effect on the state’s energy grid. Patrick McNamara, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026 Alongside these resources, the NPD Hydro portal hosts the NPD Insights catalog for site rankings, as well as the NPD Toolkit, which models payback periods while weighing environmental, community, and electrical grid considerations. Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026 That’s especially true for properties with dependable access to regional power grids. Tobias Burns, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grid

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from gridiron

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grid was in 1839

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grid. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Kids Definition

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

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