make up ground
idiom
: to move faster in order to come closer to someone or something ahead
She was trailing in the race, but she was beginning to make up ground.
—often used figurativelyThe campaign is trying to make up ground by advertising heavily in key states.
Examples of make up ground in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The block came with 18 seconds left as Murray tried to make up ground inside.
—
Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2023
Others, such as Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and USC’s Caleb Williams, can use this week to make up ground with quality performances in big games.
—Stephen Means, cleveland, 13 Oct. 2022
And as far as the fourth-and-goal play was designed to be a shovel pass from Burrow to Stanley Morgan up the middle that took place after Burrow was able to make up ground on third down, that was simply on the Bengals not executing it.
—Kelsey Conway, The Enquirer, 12 Oct. 2022
The two were splitting independents almost evenly, which is where Collier will need to make up ground in order to catch Patrick, UT-Tyler political scientist Mark Owens said.
—Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for make up ground
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Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2023
Others, such as Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and USC’s Caleb Williams, can use this week to make up ground with quality performances in big games.
—Stephen Means, cleveland, 13 Oct. 2022
And as far as the fourth-and-goal play was designed to be a shovel pass from Burrow to Stanley Morgan up the middle that took place after Burrow was able to make up ground on third down, that was simply on the Bengals not executing it.
—Kelsey Conway, The Enquirer, 12 Oct. 2022
The two were splitting independents almost evenly, which is where Collier will need to make up ground in order to catch Patrick, UT-Tyler political scientist Mark Owens said.
—Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for make up ground
Cite this Entry
“Make up ground.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20up%20ground. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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