give ground

Idioms and Phrases

Yield to a stronger force, retreat, as in He began to give ground on that point, although he didn't stop arguing entirely . This expression originated in the 1500s, when it alluded to a military force retreating and so giving up territory to the enemy. By the mid-1600s it was being used figuratively.

Related Words

• abandon
• back down
• back off
• backtrack
• depart
• escape
• evacuate
• fall back
• go
• go back
• hide
• leave
• pull out
• recede
• reel
• retire
• reverse
• shrink
• withdraw