gave ground

phrase

past tense of give ground
as in withdrew
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) There is wildlife in the area, so give ground if you see any when hiking.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gave ground
  1. gave way
  2. lost ground
Phrase
  • But Depp’s decades of Hollywood success eventually gave way to a turbulent period in his career.
    — Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Same Movie, Scarier Villain The earlier waves of shadow IT gave way to shadow applications.
    — Adrian Carr, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of gave way
Phrase
  • As America has lost ground in the global production race, New York’s share of the pie is increasing.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Leo has an intense four days in France, where the Catholic Church has lost ground on influencing ethical issues given the strict approach to secularism that is enshrined in the French Constitution.
    — Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of lost ground
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

gave birth to
gave ground
gave in
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gave ground.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gave%20ground. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All