ground

having an edge thin enough to cut or pierce something a finely ground axe Synonyms of ground cutting, edged, edgy, sharp, honed, keen, sharpened, stropped, trenchant, whettedWords Related to ground clawlike, daggerlike, knifelike; jabbing, jagged, lacerating, piercing, scratching, stabbing; pointed, pointy, spiky (also spikey)Near Antonyms of ground rounded, smooth; soft; even, flat, level, slickAntonyms of ground blunt, blunted, dull, dulled, obtuse

1 grounds pl  the area around and belonging to a building an escorted tour of the White House and its surrounding grounds Synonyms of ground demesne, park, premises (also premisses), yard Words Related to ground acres, estate, land, lot, parcel, plot, property, real estate, realty; campus; backyard, churchyard, dooryard, schoolyard; close, enclosure (also inclosure), garden, garth, plaza

2 grounds pl  matter that settles to the bottom of a body of liquid strain the coffee to remove the grounds Synonyms of ground deposition, dregs, grounds, precipitate, sediment, settlingsWords Related to ground lees; ooze, silt, sludge; dross, slag, waste

3 grounds pl  something (as a belief) that serves as the basis for another thing your dislike of her tattoos would be insufficient grounds for firing her Synonyms of ground account, authority, grounds, motive, subject, wherefore, whyWords Related to ground antecedent, cause, consideration, impetus, incentive, inspiration, instigation, occasion, stimulus

4 a small area of usually open land I'll meet you at the parade ground in two hours Synonyms of ground clearing, field, lot, parcel, plat, plot, tractWords Related to ground common(s), croft [chiefly British]; grass, green, greensward, lawn; glade, grassland, heath, heathland, lea (or ley), meadow, moor, pasture, pastureland

5 an immaterial thing upon which something else rests opposed to the notion that religious law should be used as a ground for civil law Synonyms of ground basis, bedrock, bottom, cornerstone, footing, foundation, base, groundwork, keystone, root, underpinning, warp, warp and woofWords Related to ground anchorage, bed, brace, bulwark, buttress, framework, infrastructure, mount, prop, shore, stay, substratum, substructure, support; assumption, justification, premise (also premiss), presumption, presupposition, rationale, supposition, theory, thesis, warrant; backbone, center, core, cornerstone, eye, focus, heart, hub, kernel, keystone, nucleus, seat; essence, quintessence, soul, touchstone

6 the loose surface material in which plants naturally grow stuck the shovel in the ground and went inside for a glass of water Synonyms of ground clod, earth, dirt, mold, soilWords Related to ground blackland, clay, gault [chiefly British], gley, guck (or gook), gumbo, kaolin, muck, mud; dust, gravel, sand; humus, loam, topsoil; alluvium, colluvium, detritus, loess, marl, sediment, shingle, silt; duff, mull; subsoil, substratum

7 the physical conditions or features that form the setting against which something is viewed take her picture against a blue ground in order to bring out her blue eyes Synonyms of ground backdrop, backgroundWords Related to ground mise-en-scène, scene, scenery, set, stage; entourage, environment, milieu, setting, surroundingsNear Antonyms of ground foreground; center, focal point, focus, heart

8 the solid part of our planet's surface as distinguished from the sea and air one of the Nordic creation myths states that the ground was formed by the body of the giant Ymir when he was killed by Odin and his brothers Synonyms of ground dirt, dust, earth, land, soil, terra firmaWords Related to ground continent, landmass, zone; island, isthmus, mainland, peninsula

to find a basis you're grounding your entire case on circumstantial evidence Synonyms of ground base, hang, predicate, restWords Related to ground establish, found; assume, postulate, premise, presume, presuppose, suppose