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

Low piano notes gather tentatively; sostenuto woodwinds hover just above ground level; a rainstick adds contour and shading. — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 13 July 2026

The court sits below ground level, beneath the water table, which means its soil stays wet longer. — Nick Pachelli, Time, 11 July 2026

For wire systems, set the lowest wire about two feet above ground level. — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 11 July 2026

But since then, as wildfires have grown, the nation’s average ground level ozone — which is smog — increased by 4%. — Seth Borenstein, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ground level

• daredevil
• sublevel
• bevel
• devil
• multilevel