stamping ground

or stomping ground

noun

1. a habitual or favorite haunt.

stamping ground

noun

1. a habitual or favourite meeting or gathering place

Word History and Origins

Origin of stamping ground¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Idioms and Phrases

Also, old stamping ground . A habitual or favorite haunt, as in Whenever we visit, we go back to our old stamping ground, the drugstore nearest the high school . This term alludes to a traditional gathering place for horses or cattle, which stamp down the ground with their hooves. [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

Off-off-Broadway, the natural stamping ground of alternative theater, arose in opposition to compromised opposition.

From Los Angeles Times

The scenes that birthed Stefani and others fizzled out, as people aged out and fled their old stamping grounds to the suburban limbo of south Orange County, or to places like Nashville.

From Los Angeles Times

Now 37 and a furniture designer in Los Angeles, Ms. Klemick is returning to her hometown but not to her old stamping grounds.

From New York Times

I bring up the South End cities not to dump on them — that’s my old stamping grounds, where I got my start as a reporter for the now defunct Valley Daily News.

From Seattle Times

We walked by the erstwhile locations of old stamping grounds Sunset Beer Co. and the ArcLight Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times