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

Timmy had repeatedly run aground since he was first spotted in March. — Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 2 May 2026

But then the boat hit a bridge piling and ran aground, killing Mallory Beach, 19. — Bill Chappell, NPR, 13 May 2026

Outnumbered but undaunted, the ship managed to capture one vessel, while compelling another to run aground and the last to run away. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 2 July 2026

Industry bodies have warned that extreme levels of traffic in Hormuz would raise the risk of crashes and ships running aground. — Bloomberg, Oc Register, 12 June 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