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

Storm surge warnings in South Florida, where water reached five to eight feet above ground level in the Lower Keys and six to 10 feet around the cape to Everglades City, were mostly accurate. —Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024

But due to warmer air sitting just above ground level, branches and cables are not as cold as the concrete and asphalt below, so Melo said they’ll be spared this time around. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Feb. 2024

Plant them in rich, well-draining soil, making certain the crown is above ground level. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2024

The tower in Michigan Central Station rises 15 stories above ground level and was originally built in the 1910s to hold offices, although many floors stayed vacant for lack of tenants. —Detroit Free Press, 29 Jan. 2024

Three floors of the parking would be below ground level, with the rest on the first and second floors. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2024

While New York City will be under a coastal flood advisory Saturday, parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties could get hit with more severe coastal flooding — up to 3 feet above ground level in some places. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024

But the cover image turned out to be one from ground level — a couple in distinctly Vegas clothing under the watchful eye of the Sphere. —Brandon Choe, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023

That struck some of the artists and supporters as a pointless waste of funds better spent at ground level in a city where the number of homeless people had surged to nearly 50,000 by 2023. —Steve Appleford, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1