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 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
Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020 when air travel collapsed and have struggled to make up ground this year when air travel rebounded faster than almost anyone had expected.
—Tali Arbel, Chron, 27 Dec. 2021
Put into a deep hole, the Buckeyes' offense was unable to get into a rhythm and make up ground in a game that had drifted out of control.
—Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2021
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 announcement leaves Morrison’s ruling conservative coalition with a six-week campaign to make up ground on the opposition Labor Party, which leads in the polls.
—Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2022
The block came with 18 seconds left as Murray tried to make up ground inside.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2023
Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020, when air travel collapsed, and carriers have struggled to make up ground this year, when air travel rebounded faster than almost anyone had expected.
—Andy Peters, ajc, 28 Dec. 2021
Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2022
Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020 when air travel collapsed and have struggled to make up ground this year when air travel rebounded faster than almost anyone had expected.
—Tali Arbel, Chron, 27 Dec. 2021
Put into a deep hole, the Buckeyes' offense was unable to get into a rhythm and make up ground in a game that had drifted out of control.
—Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2021
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 announcement leaves Morrison’s ruling conservative coalition with a six-week campaign to make up ground on the opposition Labor Party, which leads in the polls.
—Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2022
The block came with 18 seconds left as Murray tried to make up ground inside.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 4 Feb. 2023
Airlines encouraged workers to quit in 2020, when air travel collapsed, and carriers have struggled to make up ground this year, when air travel rebounded faster than almost anyone had expected.
—Andy Peters, ajc, 28 Dec. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'make up ground.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Make up ground.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20up%20ground. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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