ground

¹

[ ground ]

noun

1. the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land:

   He fell to the ground with a loud thud.

2. earth or soil:

   The stony ground is bad for growing wheat.

3. land having an indicated character:

   The church stands on rising ground overlooking the town.

4. Often grounds. a tract of land appropriated to a special use (often used in combination):

   Please keep the picnic grounds clean using the trash cans provided.

   The park was originally a hunting ground for the royal family.

5. Often grounds. the foundation or basis on which a belief or action rests; reason or cause:

   Harassment is grounds for dismissal.

6. subject for discussion; topic:

   Sex education is forbidden ground in some school curricula.

7. rational or factual support for one's position or attitude, as in a debate or argument:

   The study's theoretical underpinnings are on firm ground.

   I had little medical knowledge of my own, so I was on shaky ground trying to figure out the problem.

8. the main surface or background in painting, decorative work, lace, etc.
9. Fine Arts.
   1. a coating of some substance serving as a surface for paint, ink, or other media in art:

      Lead white is a traditional ground for oil paintings.

   2. ground color ( def 2 ).
10. the perceived background in a visual field, contrasted with the figure.
11. grounds,
    1. coffee beans or the like that have been ground and used for brewing:

       He cleared the coffee grounds out of the bottom of the pot and started a new batch brewing.

    2. dregs or sediment.
12. grounds, the gardens, lawn, etc., surrounding and belonging to a building.
13. Electricity. a conducting connection between an electric circuit or equipment and the earth or some other conducting body.
14. Music. ground bass ( def ).
15. Nautical. the bottom of a body of water.
16. the earth's solid or liquid surface; land or water:

    Our website can only compute the cost of shipping by ground, not by air.

17. Also called etching ground. an acid-resistant substance, composed of wax, gum, and resin in varying proportions, applied to the entire surface of an etching plate and through which the design is drawn with an etching needle.
18. Carpentry.
    1. a strip of wood to which woodwork can be attached, set flush with the plaster finish of a room.
    2. a strip of wood or length of corner bead used at an opening as a stop for plasterwork.

adjective

1. situated on, at, or adjacent to the surface of the earth:

   a ground attack.

2. relating to the ground.
3. Military. operating on land:

   ground forces.

verb (used with object)

1. to lay or set on the ground.
2. to place on a foundation; fix firmly; settle or establish; found.
3. to instruct in the basics or first principles:

   Before training them for medicine, you have to ground students in science.

4. Electricity. to establish a ground for (a circuit, device, etc.).
5. Nautical. to cause (a vessel) to run aground.
6. Aeronautics. to restrict (an aircraft or the like) to the ground because of bad weather, the unsatisfactory condition of the aircraft, etc.
7. to forbid (a pilot) to fly because of bad health, failure to comply with safety regulations, or the like.
8. Informal. to put out of action or make unable to participate:

   The quarterback was grounded by a knee injury.

9. to restrict the activities, especially the social activities, of:

   I can't go to the party—my parents have grounded me until my grades improve.

10. to cause (someone) to become calmer or more peaceful, especially during moments of stress or strong emotion:

    When I'm having an anxiety attack, going for a run really grounds me.

11. to furnish with a ground or background, as on decorative work.
12. to cover (wallpaper) with colors or other materials before printing.

verb (used without object)

1. to come to or strike the ground.
2. Baseball.
   1. to hit a ground ball.
   2. to ground out.

verb phrase

1. Baseball. to be put out at first base after hitting a ground ball to the infield.

ground

²

[ ground ]

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of grind.

adjective

1. reduced to fine particles or dust by grinding.
2. (of meat, vegetables, etc.) reduced to very small pieces by putting through a food processor or grinder:

   ground beef.

3. having the surface abraded or roughened by or as if by grinding, as in order to reduce its transparency:

   ground glass.

ground

¹

/ ɡraʊnd /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of grind

adjective

1. having the surface finished, thickness reduced, or an edge sharpened by grinding
2. reduced to fine particles by grinding

ground

²

/ ɡraʊnd /

noun

1. the land surface
2. earth or soil

   he dug into the ground outside his house

3. plural the land around a dwelling house or other building
4. sometimes plural an area of land given over to a purpose

   burial grounds

   football ground

5. land having a particular characteristic

   high ground

   level ground

6. matter for consideration or debate; field of research or inquiry

   the lecture was familiar ground to him

   the report covered a lot of ground

7. a position or viewpoint, as in an argument or controversy (esp in the phrases give ground, hold, stand, or shift one's ground )
8. position or advantage, as in a subject or competition (esp in the phrases gain ground, lose ground, etc)
9. often plural reason; justification

   grounds for complaint

10. arts
    1. the prepared surface applied to the support of a painting, such as a wall, canvas, etc, to prevent it reacting with or absorbing the paint
    2. the support of a painting
    3. the background of a painting or main surface against which the other parts of a work of art appear superimposed
11. 1. the first coat of paint applied to a surface
    2. ( as modifier )

       ground colour

12. the bottom of a river or the sea
13. plural sediment or dregs, esp from coffee
14. the floor of a room
15. cricket
    1. the area from the popping crease back past the stumps, in which a batsman may legally stand
    2. ground staff
16. See ground bass
17. a mesh or network supporting the main pattern of a piece of lace
18. electrical
    1. a connection between an electrical circuit or device and the earth, which is at zero potential
    2. Also calledearth a terminal to which this connection is made
19. above ground
    alive
20. below ground
    dead and buried
21. break new ground
    to do something that has not been done before
22. cut the ground from under someone's feet
    to anticipate someone's action or argument and thus make it irrelevant or meaningless
23. to the ground or down to the ground informal.
    completely; absolutely

    it suited him down to the ground

24. get off the ground informal.
    to make a beginning, esp one that is successful
25. go to ground
    to go into hiding
26. into the ground
    beyond what is requisite or can be endured; to exhaustion
27. meet someone on his own ground
    to meet someone according to terms he has laid down himself
28. the high ground or the moral high ground
    a position of moral or ethical superiority in a dispute
29. touch ground
    1. (of a ship) to strike the sea bed
    2. to arrive at something solid or stable after discussing or dealing with topics that are abstract or inconclusive
30. modifier situated on, living on, or used on the ground

    ground forces

    ground frost

31. modifier concerned with or operating on the ground, esp as distinct from in the air

    ground hostess

    ground crew

32. modifier (used in names of plants) low-growing and often trailing or spreading

verb

1. tr to put or place on the ground
2. tr to instruct in fundamentals
3. tr to provide a basis or foundation for; establish
4. tr to confine (an aircraft, pilot, etc) to the ground
5. informal.
   tr to confine (a child) to the house as a punishment
6. the usual US word for earth
7. tr nautical to run (a vessel) aground
8. tr to cover (a surface) with a preparatory coat of paint
9. intr to hit or reach the ground

ground

/ ground /

1. A connection between an electrical conductor and the Earth. Grounds are used to establish a common zero-voltage reference for electric devices in order to prevent potentially dangerous voltages from arising between them and other objects.
2. Also called earth
3. The set of shared points in an electrical circuit at which the measured voltage is taken to be zero. The ground is usually connected directly to the power supply and acts as a common “sink” for current flowing through the components in the circuit.

Other Words From

• ground·a·ble adjective
• ground·a·bly adverb
• ground·ward ground·wards adverb adjective
• un·ground·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ground¹

First recorded before 900; (for the noun) Middle English ground, grund, grond “bottom, base, foot (of a ladder),” Old English grund “bottom, deep place, abyss”; cognate with Dutch grond, German Grund; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of ground²

First recorded in 1755–65 ground ²fordef 2; ground ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ground¹

Old English grund; related to Old Norse grunn shallow, grunnr, grund plain, Old High German grunt

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. boots on the ground,
   1. troops or forces who are physically present in a military campaign, law enforcement operation, or the like:

      Will NATO put boots on the ground to enforce the agreement?

   2. people who are physically present to carry out work:

      Some of our volunteers work online, and others work as boots on the ground in several locations.

2. break ground,
   1. to plow.
   2. to begin excavation for a construction project.
   3. to begin or take preparatory measures for any undertaking.
3. cover ground,
   1. to pass or travel over a certain area.
   2. to make a certain amount of progress in dealing with a piece of work, subject, treatise, or the like:

      He talked for two hours without covering much ground.

4. cut the ground from under, to render (an argument, position, person, etc.) ineffective or invalid; refute:

   It didn't require much effort to cut the ground from under that case.

5. from the ground up,
   1. gradually from the most elementary level to the highest level:

      She learned the business from the ground up.

   2. extensively; thoroughly:

      The professor knew his subject from the ground up.

6. gain ground,
   1. to make progress; advance:

      As consumer demand for SUVs gained ground, so did the company's popularity.

   2. to gain approval or acceptance:

      The case for renewable energy is gaining ground throughout the country.

7. give ground, to yield to force or forceful argument; retreat:

   The disarmament talks reached an impasse when neither side would give ground on inspection proposals.

8. hold / stand one's ground, to maintain one's position; be steadfast:

   The referee stood his ground, though his decision was hotly contested by the crowd.

9. into the ground, beyond a reasonable or necessary point:

   You've stated your case, and you needn't run it into the ground.

10. lose ground,
    1. to retreat or be forced back.
    2. to lose one's advantage; suffer a reverse.
    3. to wane in popularity or acceptance; begin to fail:

       Our candidate is losing ground in industrial areas.

11. off the ground, Informal. into action or well under way:

    The play never got off the ground.

12. on one's own ground, in an area or situation that one knows well.
13. on the ground,
    1. at the place of action, interest, or importance:

       Minutes after the bank robbery, reporters were on the ground to get the story.

    2. in reality; in real life: .

       The facts on the ground are different from the rosy picture in official narratives

14. shift ground, to change position in an argument or situation.
15. suit down to the ground, to be perfectly satisfactory; please greatly:

    This climate suits me down to the ground.

16. take the ground, Nautical. to become grounded at low water.
17. to ground,
    1. into a den, burrow, shelter, or the like:

       a fox gone to ground.

    2. into concealment or hiding:

       Rather than take the witness stand, she went to ground in another country.

More idioms and phrases containing ground

• both feet on the ground
• break ground
• common ground
• cover ground
• cover the field (ground)
• cut the ground from under
• down to the ground
• ear to the ground
• from the ground up
• gain ground
• get off the ground
• give ground
• happy hunting ground
• hit the ground running
• lose ground
• on one's home ground
• run into the ground
• run to earth (ground)
• stamping ground
• stand one's ground
• worship the ground someone walks on

Example Sentences

“He’s exactly the leader the sport needs to break new ground. This is the step forward that track needs to take it to another level.”

From Los Angeles Times

"Presidents and directors, leave Roma, you are incompetent and unworthy," read the banner outside the training ground gates.

From BBC

In the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner on second in a tie game, Herbert hit a slow ground ball on what should have been a routine play.

From Los Angeles Times

The massive neck dips, casting a curving shadow on the mossy ground.

From Los Angeles Times

In February 2023, an environmental review identified a contamination risk from "asbestos-containing materials in existing buildings and contaminated ground", while a due diligence report assessed conditions at the site as "high risk".

From BBC

Related Words

• dock
• prevent
• strand