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

Use a shovel or pickax to dig below ground level to remove the root system. —Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 11 May 2026

Cut back the stems nearly to ground level in the fall because flowers will appear on new growth. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 May 2026

Below ground, additional spaces feature a gym and home office, where natural light is filtered into these lower areas through subtle openings at ground level. —Bridget Borgobello may 02, New Atlas, 2 May 2026

To me, looking at both proposals, the plan that’s all park seems much more workable at a day-to-day ground level. —Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ground level

• daredevil
• sublevel
• bevel
• devil
• multilevel