ground

Plural: grounds

Noun

• the solid part of the earth's surface
  • "he dropped the logs on the ground"
• a rational motive for a belief or action
  • "the grounds for their declaration"
• the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface
• a relation that provides the foundation for something
• 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"
• the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground
  • "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"
• material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use)
• a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused
• a connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage)
• (art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a painting
• the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surface
• The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
• Terrain.
• Soil, earth.
• The bottom of a body of water.
• Basis, foundation, groundwork, legwork.
• Reason, (epistemic) justification, cause.
• Background, context, framework, surroundings.
• The area on which a battle is fought, particularly as referring to the area occupied by one side or the other. Often, according to the eventualities, "to give ground" or "to gain ground".
• Advantage given or gained in any contest; e.g. in football, chess, debate or academic discourse.
• A place suited to a specified activity.
• The plain surface upon which the figures of an artistic composition are set.
• A flat surface upon which figures are raised in relief.
• The net of small meshes upon which the embroidered pattern is applied.
• A gummy substance spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle.
• One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which mouldings etc. are attached.
• A soccer stadium.
• An electrical conductor connected to the earth, or a large conductor whose electrical potential is taken as zero (such as a steel chassis).
• Electric shock.
• The area of grass on which a match is played (a cricket field); the entire arena in which it is played; the part of the field behind a batsman's popping crease where he can not be run out (hence to make one's ground).
• A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody.
• The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song.
• The pit of a theatre.
• Synonym of munny (“land measure”).

Verb

Verb Forms: grounded, grounding, grounds

• To place something on a foundation or solid base.
• fix firmly and stably
• confine or restrict to the ground
  • "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"
• place or put on the ground
• instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject
• bring to the ground
  • "the storm grounded the ship"
• hit or reach the ground
• throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage
• hit a groundball
  • "he grounded to the second baseman"
• hit onto the ground
• cover with a primer; apply a primer to
• connect to a ground
  • "ground the electrical connections for safety reasons"
• use as a basis for; found on
• press or grind with a crushing noise
• make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together
• work hard
• dance by rotating the pelvis in an erotically suggestive way, often while in contact with one's partner such that the dancers' legs are interlaced
• reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
• created by grinding
• shape or form by grinding
• To connect (an electrical conductor or device) to a ground.
• To electrocute.
• To punish, especially a child or teenager, by forcing them to stay at home and/or give up certain privileges.
• To forbid (an aircraft or pilot) to fly.
• To give a basic education in a particular subject; to instruct in elements or first principles.
• To place a bat or part of the body on the ground to avoid being run out.
• To hit a ground ball. Compare fly (verb (regular)) and line (verb).
• To place something on the ground.
• To run aground; to strike the bottom and remain fixed.
• To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.
• To cover with a ground, as a copper plate for etching, or as paper or other materials with a uniform tint as a preparation for ornament.
• To improve or focus the mental or emotional state of.
• To complement a machine learning model with relevant information it was not trained on.
• simple past and past participle of grind

Adj

• Crushed, or reduced to small particles.
• Processed by grinding.

Examples

• a forest traditionally used as a hunting-ground
• Because of the bad weather, all flights were grounded.
• crimson flowers on a white ground
• Eric, you are grounded until further notice for lying to us about where you were last night!
• ground mustard seed
• Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them.
• He could not come on grounds of health, or on health grounds.
• I ground myself with meditation.
• I ground the coffee up nicely.
• If you don't clean your room, I'll have no choice but to ground you.
• Jim was grounded in maths.
• lenses of ground glass
• Look, I found a ten dollar bill on the ground!
• Manchester United's ground is known as Old Trafford.
• My kids are currently grounded from television.
• She needed to GROUND her Scrabble strategy on strong defensive plays.
• The ship grounded on the bar.
• The worm crawls through the ground.
• You will need to show good grounds for your action.

Synonyms

anchor, background, base, basis, bray, comminute, cranch, craunch, crunch, dig, drudge, dry land, earth, establish, fag, flat coat, footing, found, grate, grind, labor, labour, land, mash, moil, prime, primer, primer coat, priming, priming coat, reason, run aground, soil, solid ground, strand, terra firma, toil, travail, undercoat, gate, milled, munny

Antonyms

figure

Related Words

floor, terra firma

Anagrams of ground