aground

adverb or adjective

ə-ˈgrau̇nd 

1

: on the ground

planes aloft and aground

2

: on or onto the shore or the bottom of a body of water

A ship ran aground during the storm.

Synonyms of aground

• stranded
• landed
• grounded
• beached

Examples of aground in a Sentence

the villagers came to stare at the foreign ship that was aground on their beach and at the strangely dressed sailors on board

Recent Examples on the Web

That ought to be advantageous for the Spaniard, who seemed too often to run aground when trapped inside in a more narrow system. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 21 July 2026

In July, low water levels caused a river cruise ship to run aground on the Rhine in the city of Bonn. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 21 July 2026

Venezuela has run aground under a Chavista regime since 1999, when Hugo Chavez rose to power and created a regime combining left-wing populism, authoritarianism, petro-state largesse, and anti-Americanism. — Rafael Osío Cabrices, Time, 20 July 2026

One of Tuscany’s most tranquil islands The Tuscan island of Giglio hit the news in 2012 when a cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, ran aground here and capsized, with the loss of 32 lives. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 8 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for aground

• abound
• around
• astound
• background
• campground
• clothbound
• confound
• earthbound
• eastbound
• expound
• fairground
• foreground

Kids Definition

aground

adverb or adjective

ə-ˈgrau̇nd 

: on or onto the shore or the bottom of a body of water

the ship ran aground