gridiron

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Football The field of play.
2. n. Football The game itself.
3. n. A metal structure high above the stage of a theater, from which ropes or cables are strung to scenery and lights.
4. n. A flat framework of parallel metal bars used for broiling meat or fish.
5. n. An object resembling such a framework.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A grated utensil for broiling flesh and fish over coals or in front of a fire-grate, usually a square frame with a handle, short legs, and transverse bars.
2. n. A frame formed of cross-beams of wood or iron, on which a ship rests for inspection or repair at low water; a grid.
3. To cover with parallel lines or bars, like those of a gridiron: often said of railroads, as giving such an appearance to the map.
4. n. In Amer. foot-ball, a trivial term applied to the field of play, in allusion to the fact that it is crossed by transverse white lines every five yards. It is also sometimes called a checker-board, because recent rules provide for longitudinal lines as well.
5. n. A structure of planks erected above the stage of a theater to support the mechanism by which the drop-scenes, etc., are worked.

Wiktionary

1. n. uncountable American football.
2. n. A generic term for American and Canadian football, particularly when used to distinguish from other codes of football.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A grated iron utensil for broiling flesh and fish over coals.
2. n. (Naut.) An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs.
3. n. (Sport) A football field; -- so called because of the resemblance of the parallel marked yard lines to a gridiron{1}.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a cooking utensil of parallel metal bars; used to grill fish or meat
2. n. the playing field on which football is played