ground level

noun

plural ground levels

1

a

: the level of the ground taken as a reference point

From ground level, the arrayed fields of feed corn and soybeans look … like sprint tracks or Olympic pools, replete with the angles and alleys of serious tennis.

—David Foster Wallace

These survey flights were conducted at 300 feet above ground level. During the return flight to Schefferville, the aircraft descended and flew over terrain at an altitude varying between 100 and 40 feet above ground level.

—Targeted New Service

compare sea level

b

: the story (see story entry 3 sense 1a) of a building with its floor aligned to ground level : ground floor sense 1

It was a two-story house with white siding on the ground level …

—Neil Sheehan

2

: the state of a physical system (as of an atomic nucleus or an atom) having the least energy of all the possible states : ground state

Examples of ground level in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Take time to thin overgrown plants in late summer, cutting select stems off at ground level to allow air to move freely around plants. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025

Expect up to one foot of water above ground level in low-lying, vulnerable areas. —Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2025

They can only be sedated long enough to be carefully brought down to ground level. —Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025

The museum has three stories—two above-ground levels and a basement—and features a striking pleated facade of stainless steel and glass. —Mae Hamilton, AFAR Media, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ground level

• daredevil
• sublevel
• bevel
• devil
• mediaeval
• multilevel