groundnoun
uk/ɡraʊnd/us/ɡraʊnd/ground noun (LAND)
More examples
- Cracks had appeared in the dry ground.
- The plane dived towards the ground and exploded in a ball of flame.
- A post had been driven into the ground near the tree.
- The nuclear waste has been entombed in concrete many metres under the ground.
- At the end of the race his legs gave out and he collapsed on the ground.
B1 the surface of the earth:
B2 [ U ] soil:
B1 [ C ] an area of land used for a particular purpose or activity:
C2 the gardens and land that surround a building and often have a wall or fence around them:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
The Earth & outer space - general words
- ablate
- biophilia
- cosmologist
- cosmology
- eolian
- ether
- evapotranspiration
- geo-
- geocentric
- globe
- heaven
- landslide
- macrocosm
- slide
- terra firma
- terrestrial
- the cosmos
- the mesosphere
- the troposphere
- universe
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ground noun (CAUSE)
C2 [ C usually plural ] a reason, cause, or argument:
More examples
- There should be no discrimination on the grounds of colour.
- Do you have any grounds for complaint ?
- The accused pleaded not guilty on grounds of diminished responsibility.
- He refused to say anything on the grounds that he might incriminate himself.
- She is suing the company on grounds of unfair dismissal.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Motives and reasons
- cause 1
- drive
- first principles
- hidden agenda
- impulse
- in the name of sth idiom
- inclination
- justification
- mainspring
- motivation
- motive
- name
- object
- peg
- rationale
- reason
- should
- wherefores
- why
ground noun (AREA OF KNOWLEDGE)
C2 [ U ] an area of knowledge or experience:
More examples
- The debate is becoming polarized and there seems to be no middle ground.
- I think you're on very shaky ground with that argument.
- He's annoying to argue with because he keeps shifting his ground.
- The party has watered down its socialist ideals in order to appeal to the centre ground.
- We covered a lot of ground in the first few weeks of the course.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Topics & areas of interest
- affair
- backyard
- domain
- in your backyard idiom
- item
- kingdom
- matter
- specialism
- specialty
- sphere
- stage
- subject
- subject matter
- sweep
- talking of sb/sth idiom
- theme
- themed
- thesis
- topic
- turf
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ground noun (WIRE)
[ C usually singular ] US UK earth a wire that makes a connection between a piece of electrical equipment and the ground, so the user is protected from feeling an electric shock if the equipment develops a fault
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Electrical switches & connections
- connector
- cord
- cordless
- dimmer
- dimmer switch
- dip switch
- docking station
- electrical outlet
- jack
- jack plug
- plug (sth) in/plug (sth) into sth
- push-button
- put sth on
- put sth out 1
- remote control
- shaver point
- socket
- switch
- wiring
- zapper
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ground noun (COFFEE)
the small grains of coffee left at the bottom of a cup or other container that has had coffee in it
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Things remaining
- (and) all the rest idiom
- balance
- bastion
- cutpiece
- deposit
- dregs
- for the rest idiom
- hangover
- relic
- remainder
- remains
- remnant
- residual
- residue
- rest
- the shirt off sb's back idiom
- throwback
- time capsule
- vestige
- wreckage
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Idiom(s)
groundverb
uk/ɡraʊnd/us/ɡraʊnd/ground verb (GRIND)
past simple and past participle of grind
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Squeezing and grinding
- compact
- compress
- compression
- concertina
- constrict
- crush
- depress
- firm
- gnash your teeth idiom
- grind
- mill
- pack
- pinch
- pound
- pulp
- pulverize
- scrunch
- shut
- shut sth in sth
- snap
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ground verb (KEEP ON LAND)
If a ship is grounded, it cannot move because it has hit solid ground:
[ T often passive ] If aircraft are grounded, they are prevented from flying or ordered not to fly:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Staying afloat, capsizing & sinking
- bail sth out
- buoy
- ducking
- founder
- go
- go under
- keel
- keel over
- refloat
- resurface
- ride
- ride sth out
- right
- run
- run aground/ashore idiom
- sank
- submerge
- sunken
- unsinkable
- waterlogged
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
ground verb (PUNISH)
[ T ] to forbid (= refuse to allow) a child or young person from going out as a punishment:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Punishing & punishments
- bar
- be brought/called to account idiom
- boot
- bring
- bum rap
- carrot
- chastise
- clobber
- crucify
- heads will roll! idiom
- kick
- kick (some) ass idiom
- non-custodial
- parking ticket
- penal
- skin sb alive idiom
- strip
- swing
- throw
- throw the book at sb idiom
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ground verb (PUT WIRE)
[ T usually passive ] US UK earth to connect a piece of electrical equipment to the ground with a wire:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Electricity & electronics
- anodize
- anti-static
- chargeable
- charger
- conduction
- destructive interference
- electric
- electric field
- electrical
- electromagnetic
- electrostatic
- flow
- generation
- homing
- input
- linesman
- rechargeable
- resistor
- solid-state
- transistorized
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ground verb (CAUSE)
to be based firmly on something:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Being based on or depending on something
- base sth on sth
- basis
- boil down to sth
- build around sth
- build on sth
- come down to sth
- in the wake of sth idiom
- live off sb/sth
- more
- on the back of sth idiom
- on the strength of sth idiom
- rest
- ride
- spring
- strength
- the stuff of sth idiom
- turn on sth
- underlie
- underpin
- understanding
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