ground

noun, often attributive

\ ˈgrau̇nd

Definition of ground

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : the bottom of a body of water

b grounds plural

(1) : sediment sense 1

(2) : ground coffee beans after brewing

2a : a basis for belief, action, or argument ground for complaint —often used in plural sufficient grounds for divorce

b(1) : a fundamental logical condition

(2) : a basic metaphysical (see metaphysical sense 2) cause

3a : a surrounding area : background

b : material that serves as a substratum

4a : the surface of a planet (such as the earth or Mars)

b : an area used for a particular purpose the parade ground fishing grounds

c grounds plural : the area around and belonging to a house or other building

d : an area to be won or defended in or as if in battle

e : an area of knowledge or special interest covered a lot of ground in his lecture

5a : soil, earth

b : a special soil

6a : an object that makes an electrical connection with the earth

b : a large conducting body (such as the earth) used as a common return for an electric circuit and as an arbitrary zero of potential

c : electric connection with a ground

7 : a football offense utilizing primarily running plays

from the ground up

1 : entirely new or afresh The car has been redesigned from the ground up.

2 : from the very beginning : thoroughly built the resort from the ground up

into the ground

: beyond what is necessary or tolerable : to exhaustion labored an issue into the ground — Newsweek

off the ground

: in or as if in flight : off to a good start the program never got off the ground

on the ground

: at the scene of action

to ground

1 : into a burrow the fox went to ground

2 : into hiding might need to make a run for it and go to ground someplace— Edward Hoagland

ground

verb

grounded; grounding; grounds

Definition of ground (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1a : to bring to or place on the ground

b : to cause to run aground

2a : to provide a reason or justification for our fears about technological change may be well grounded— L. K. Williams

b : to furnish with a foundation of knowledge : base an understanding … that is grounded in fact— Michael Kimmelman

3 : to connect electrically with a ground

4a : to restrict to the ground ground a pilot

b : to prohibit from taking part in some usual activities grounded her for a week

5 : to throw (a football) intentionally to the ground to avoid being tackled for a loss

intransitive verb

1 : to have a ground or basis : rely

2 : to run aground The ship grounded on a mud bank.

3 : to hit a grounder grounded back to the pitcher

ground

Definition of ground (Entry 3 of 3)

past tense and past participle of grind

Other Words from ground Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ground

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Synonyms for ground

Synonyms: Noun

demesne, park, premises (also premisses), yard

Synonyms: Verb

base, hang, predicate, rest

Examples of ground in a Sentence

Noun

An apple fell to the ground. Mechanical problems kept the plane on the ground. They were lying on the ground. The flight was watched by many observers on the ground. planting seeds in the ground She drove a spike into the ground. They built their house on bare ground. We realized that we were on hallowed ground. They built their house on high ground. Each fall the birds return to their wintering grounds.

Verb

They grounded the ship on a sandbar. The plane was grounded by mechanical problems. Bad weather grounded his flight. a pilot grounded by health problems

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Two batters later, center fielder Brett Gardner covered a lot of ground to make a sliding catch on Adam Engel’s flare. — Jake Seiner, The Seattle Times, "Sabathia cruises in return from angioplasty, Yanks 1-hit CHW," 13 Apr. 2019 The show centers on Queen Elizabeth II's life, after all, so there's plenty of ground to cover. — Glamour, "Everything We Know So Far About The Crown Season 3," 9 Apr. 2019 It is designed to pull cores (think plugs) of soil out of the ground. — Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, "What Is a Lawn Aerator, and Do I Need One?," 28 Mar. 2019 There were amaryllis growing out of the ground, their bulbs the size of soccer balls. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "How One Celebrity Florist Brings Flowers into the Home for Spring," 19 Mar. 2019 Given the mid-May premiere, there's a LOT of ground to cover. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "All Hannah B's 'Bachelorette' Contestants Have Been Announced," 13 Mar. 2019 The Alienware Area-51m is a flagship gaming laptop that breaks a lot of new ground. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "Alienware Area-51m: We unbox and benchmark this desktop-class laptop," 13 Mar. 2019 Finely chop them in a food processor, then fold into ground beef to make burgers or meatballs. — Woman's Day Kitchen, Woman's Day, "Vegetarian Fried Rice," 15 Feb. 2019 Roger MacKenzie has covered a lot of ground on this season on Outlander. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Outlander Actor Richard Rankin Weighs in on Roger's Role in Tonight's Shocking Final Scene," 21 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The scammer beauty routine seems to be grounded by the lack of a hairbrush and a semi-dazed look in the eyes, which is heightened on female scammers by a haphazard application of black eye makeup. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Why Is Scammer Style So Bad?," 22 Mar. 2019 Both incidents have placed a harsh spotlight on Boeing, which has seen all of Max 8 and 9 jets grounded by aviation authorities throughout the world in the immediate wake of the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy which killed 157 earlier this month. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Report: Boeing Charged Extra for Safety Features Tied to 737 Max Crashes," 21 Mar. 2019 Enter: Troy’s latest seven-piece Rebar Capsule Collection—a place where hot pink, snake-like rebar legs hold up a modern coffee table; where a contemporary double-sided mirror is framed by neon green rebar and grounded by an exotic wood base. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "A Bold and Sculptural New Furniture Collection Inspired by the Basics," 26 Feb. 2019 And the room is grounded not by the typical island but by a large table made from a section of antique parquet flooring. — Kaitlin Menza, House Beautiful, "Janie Molster Strongly Believes There is No Such a Thing as Too Much Pink," 6 Feb. 2019 The female stewardess, who was not identified, was grounded by her employer after a 75-second clip of the video hit the Internet, The Mirror reported. — Janine Puhak, Fox News, "British Airways suspends flight attendant over racy video of her stripping off tights, smelling them," 21 Aug. 2018 Hundreds of drones, set to wow viewers with a patriotic display of flashing lights in the sky, were grounded Wednesday by windy conditions. — Ryan Suppe, USA TODAY, "Intel postpones Fourth of July drone light show due to windy conditions," 4 July 2018 The song’s experimentalism is out of this world, but its solar flair is grounded by the earthiness of the instrumentation. — Billboard Staff, Billboard, "BTS' 50 Best Songs: Critics' Picks," 12 June 2018 Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Pilot of Doomed Ethiopian Airlines Flight Reported Control Problems Shortly After Takeoff," 13 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ground.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for ground

Last Updated

22 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for ground

The first known use of ground was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for ground

ground

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ground

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the surface of the earth

: the soil that is on or under the surface of the earth

: an area of land

ground

verb

English Language Learners Definition of ground (Entry 2 of 2)

: to provide a basis or reason for (something)

: to cause a ship or boat to hit the ground below the water so that it cannot move

: to prevent (an aircraft or a pilot) from flying

See the full definition for ground in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ground

noun

\ ˈgrau̇nd

Kids Definition of ground

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : the surface of the earth Leaves fell to the ground.

2 : soil entry 2 sense 1, earth The beans themselves popped out of the ground.— Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie

3 : the bottom of a body of water The boat struck ground.

4 : an area of land sacred ground

5 : an area used for some purpose a hunting ground

6 grounds plural : the land around and belonging to a building the school grounds

7 : background sense 1

8 : a reason for a belief, action, or argument What is the ground for your complaint?

9 : an area of knowledge We covered a lot of ground in class.

10 : a level of achievement or success The company is losing ground.

11 grounds plural : material in a liquid that settles to the bottom coffee grounds

ground

verb

grounded; grounding

Kids Definition of ground (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : to provide a reason for The practices are grounded in tradition.

2 : to instruct in basic knowledge or understanding The students are well grounded in math.

3 : to run or cause to run aground ground a ship

4 : to connect electrically with the ground

5 : to prevent (a plane or pilot) from flying

6 : to prohibit from taking part in certain activities as punishment My parents grounded me for a week.

ground

Kids Definition of ground (Entry 3 of 3)

past tense and past participle of grind

ground

Medical Definition of ground

past and past part of grind

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ground

noun

Legal Definition of ground

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the foundation or basis on which knowledge, belief, or conviction rests : a premise, reason, or collection of data upon which something (as a legal action or argument) relies for validity sued the city on the ground that the city…had wrongfully released…records — City of Lawton v. Moore, 868 P.2d 690 (1993) listed adultery and alcoholism as the grounds for divorce

2 : a piece or parcel of land the design being to create high ground for use during overflow periods — Bright v. Perkins, 239 S.W.2d 281 (1951) a sudden disruption of a piece of ground from one man's land — Porter v. Arkansas Western Gas Co., 482 S.W.2d 598 (1972)

ground

transitive verb

Legal Definition of ground (Entry 2 of 2)

: to furnish a ground for : set on a basis that court grounded the disclosure requirement in negligence law — Scott v. Bradford, 606 P.2d 554 (1979) an argument grounded on falsehoods