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ground 1 (ground)n.1. a. The solid surface of the earth. b. The floor of a body of water, especially the sea. 2. Soil; earth: level the ground for a lawn. 3. An area of land designated for a particular purpose. Often used in the plural: a burial ground; parade grounds. 4. The land surrounding or forming part of a house or another building. Often used in the plural: a guesthouse on the grounds of the mansion. 5. An area or a position that is contested in or as if in battle: The soldiers held their ground against the enemy. Character witnesses helped the defendant stand her ground in the trial. 6. Something that serves as a foundation or means of attachment for something else: a ground of white paint under the mural. 7. A surrounding area; a background. 8. The foundation for an argument, a belief, or an action; a basis. Often used in the plural. 9. The underlying condition prompting an action; a cause. Often used in the plural: grounds for suspicion; a ground for divorce. See Synonyms at base1. 10. An area of reference or discussion; a subject: The professor covered new ground in every lecture. 11. grounds The sediment at or from the bottom of a liquid: coffee grounds. 12. Electricity a. A large conducting body, such as the earth or an electric circuit connected to the earth, used as an arbitrary zero of potential. b. A conducting object, such as a wire, that is connected to such a position of zero potential. v. ground·ed, ground·ing, grounds v.tr.1. To place on or cause to touch the ground. 2. To provide a basis for (a theory, for example); justify. 3. To supply with basic information; instruct in fundamentals. 4. a. To prevent (an aircraft or a pilot) from flying. b. Informal To restrict (someone) especially to a certain place as a punishment. 5. Electricity To connect (an electric circuit) to a ground. 6. Nautical To run (a vessel) aground. 7. a. Baseball To hit (a ball) onto the ground. b. Football To throw (a ball) to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage. v.intr.1. To touch or reach the ground. 2. Baseball To hit a ground ball: grounded to the second baseman. 3. Nautical To run aground. Phrasal Verb: ground out Baseball To be put out by hitting a ground ball that is fielded and thrown to first base. Idioms: drive/run into the ground To belabor (an issue or a subject). from the ground up From the most basic level to the highest level; completely: designed the house from the ground up; learned the family business from the ground up. off the ground Under way, as if in flight: Because of legal difficulties, the construction project never got off the ground. on (one's) own ground In a situation where one has knowledge or competence: a sculptor back on her own ground after experiments with painting. on the ground At a place that is exciting, interesting, or important. to ground1. Into a den or burrow: a fox going to ground. 2. Into hiding.
[Middle English, from Old English grund.] |
ground 1 Noun 1. the land surface 2. earth or soil 3. an area used for a particular purpose: a cricket ground 4. a matter for consideration or discussion: there is no need to cover the same ground 5. an advantage in an argument or competition: neither side seems willing to give ground in this trial of strength 6. the background colour of a painting 7. US & Canad an electrical earth 8. grounds a. the land around a building b. reason or justification: the hostages should be freed on humanitarian grounds c. sediment or dregs: coffee grounds 9. break new ground to do something that has not been done before 10. common ground an agreed basis for identifying issues in an argument 11. get something off the ground to get something started: to get the peace conference off the ground 12. into the ground to exhaustion or excess: he was running himself into the ground 13. suit someone down to the ground Brit informal to be totally suitable or appropriate for someone Adjective on the ground: ground troops Verb 1. to confine (an aircraft or pilot) to the ground 2. Naut to move (a ship) onto the bottom of shallow water, so that it cannot move 3. to instruct in the basics of a subject: the student who is not grounded in the elements cannot understand the advanced teaching 4. to provide a basis for; establish: a scientifically grounded documentation 5. to forbid (a child) to go out and enjoy himself or herself as a punishment 6. US & Canad to connect (a circuit or electrical device) to an earth [Old English grund] ground 2 Verb Adjective reduced to fine particles by grinding: ground glass
ground (ground)1. A connection between an electrical conductor and the Earth. Grounds are used to establish a common zero-voltage reference for electric devices in order to prevent potentially dangerous voltages from arising between them and other objects. Also called earth. 2. The set of shared points in an electrical circuit at which the measured voltage is taken to be zero. The ground is usually connected directly to the power supply and acts as a common "sink" for current flowing through the components in the circuit. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | ground - the solid part of the earth's surface; "the plane turned away from the sea and moved back over land"; "the earth shook for several minutes"; "he dropped the logs on the ground"object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" archipelago - a group of many islands in a large body of water beachfront - a strip of land running along a beach cape, ness - a strip of land projecting into a body of water earth, globe, world - the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on; "the Earth moves around the sun"; "he sailed around the world" floor - the ground on which people and animals move about; "the fire spared the forest floor" foreland - land forming the forward margin of something island - a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water isthmus - a relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas mainland - the main land mass of a country or continent; as distinguished from an island or peninsula neck - a narrow elongated projecting strip of land oxbow - the land inside an oxbow bend in a river peninsula - a large mass of land projecting into a body of water champaign, plain, field - extensive tract of level open land; "they emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain"; "he longed for the fields of his youth" slash - an open tract of land in a forest that is strewn with debris from logging (or fire or wind) wonderland - a place or scene of great or strange beauty or wonder | | 2. | ground - a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"rational motive - a motive that can be defended by reasoning or logical argument occasion - reason; "there was no occasion for complaint" account, score - grounds; "don't do it on my account"; "the paper was rejected on account of its length"; "he tried to blame the victim but his success on that score was doubtful" wherefore, why - the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase `the whys and wherefores' | | 3. | ground - the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface; "they dug into the earth outside the church"moraine - accumulated earth and stones deposited by a glacier material, stuff - the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object; "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is the stuff they use to make bread" saprolite - a deposit of clay and disintegrating rock that is found in its original place dirt, soil - the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock | | 4. | ground - a relation that provides the foundation for something; "they were on a friendly footing"; "he worked on an interim basis"foundation - the basis on which something is grounded; "there is little foundation for his objections" common ground - a basis agreed to by all parties for reaching a mutual understanding | | 5. | ground - a position to be won or defended in battle (or as if in battle); "they gained ground step by step"; "they fought to regain the lost ground" | | 6. | ground - the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground; "he posed her against a background of rolling hills" | | 7. | ground - material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use); "the land had never been plowed"; "good agricultural soil"object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" overburden - the surface soil that must be moved away to get at coal seams and mineral deposits polder - low-lying land that has been reclaimed and is protected by dikes (especially in the Netherlands) rangeland - land suitable for grazing livestock scablands - (geology) flat elevated land with poor soil and little vegetation that is scarred by dry channels of glacial origin (especially in eastern Washington) wetland - a low area where the land is saturated with water | | 8. | ground - a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focusedfigure - a unitary percept having structure and coherence that is the object of attention and that stands out against a ground | | 9. | ground - a connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage)electricity - a physical phenomenon associated with stationary or moving electrons and protons | | 10. | ground - (art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a paintingartistic creation, artistic production, art - the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully" surface - the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary; "there is a special cleaner for these surfaces"; "the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface" | | 11. | ground - the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surfacecouch - a flat coat of paint or varnish used by artists as a primer | | Verb | 1. | ground - fix firmly and stably; "anchor the lamppost in concrete"fasten, fix, secure - cause to be firmly attached; "fasten the lock onto the door"; "she fixed her gaze on the man" | | 2. | ground - confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"restrain, confine, hold - to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement; "This holds the local until the express passengers change trains"; "About a dozen animals were held inside the stockade"; "The illegal immigrants were held at a detention center"; "The terrorists held the journalists for ransom" | | 3. | ground - place or put on the groundlay, place, put, set, position, pose - put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point" | | 4. | ground - instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subjectinstruct, teach, learn - impart skills or knowledge to; "I taught them French"; "He instructed me in building a boat" | | 5. | ground - bring to the ground; "the storm grounded the ship"land - bring ashore; "The drug smugglers landed the heroin on the beach of the island" | | 6. | ground - hit or reach the groundarrive at, reach, attain, gain, hit, make - reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts" | | 7. | ground - throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmagefootball, football game - any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal throw - propel through the air; "throw a frisbee" | | 8. | ground - hit a groundball; "he grounded to the second baseman"baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League ball in the area"; "play ball!" hit - cause to move by striking; "hit a ball" | | 9. | ground - hit onto the groundbaseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League ball in the area"; "play ball!" hit - cause to move by striking; "hit a ball" ground - hit a groundball; "he grounded to the second baseman" ground - throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage | | 10. | ground - cover with a primer; apply a primer topaint - apply paint to; coat with paint; "We painted the rooms yellow" | | 11. | ground - connect to a ground; "ground the electrical connections for safety reasons"earth - connect to the earth; "earth the circuit" connect, link, link up, tie - connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces; "Can you connect the two loudspeakers?"; "Tie the ropes together"; "Link arms" | | 12. | ground - use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"build - found or ground; "build a defense on nothing but the accused person's reputation" |
ground plural noun 4. reason, cause, basis, argument, call, base, occasion, foundation, excuse, premise, motive, justification, rationale, inducement
Translationsground [graund] pt, pp of grind ( US) (also: ground wire) → tierragrounds npl [ of coffee etc] → poso sg (= gardens etc); jardines mpl; parque m; on the ground → en el suelo; to the ground → al suelo; he covered a lot of ground in his lecture → abarcó mucho en la clase ground [graund] pt, pp of grind ( US) (also: ground wire) → terre fadj ( coffee etc) → moulu(e); (US) [meat] → haché(e); on the ground, to the ground → par terre; ground [graund] pt, pp of grind ( US) ( Elec) (also: ground wire) → Erde f; ( reason) ( gen pl) → Grund mgrounds npl ( of coffee etc) → Satz m; (gardens etc) → Anlagen pl; common ground → Gemeinsame(s) nt; ground [graund] pt, pp of grind ( US) (also: ground wire) → (presa a) terragrounds npl [ of coffee etc] → fondi mpl (= gardens etc); terreno, giardini mpl; he covered a lot of ground in his lecture → ha toccato molti argomenti nel corso della conferenza ground grind
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