7 N‑PLURAL [n N ] The grounds of a large or important building are the garden or area of land which surrounds it. □ …the palace grounds. □ [+ of ] …the grounds of the University.
8 N‑VAR You can use ground to refer to a place or situation in which particular methods or ideas can develop and be successful. □ [+ for ] The company has maintained its reputation as the developing ground for new techniques. □ [+ for ] Colonialism is especially fertile ground for nationalist ideas.
9 N‑UNCOUNT [oft on adj N ] You can use ground in expressions such as on shaky ground and the same ground to refer to a particular subject, area of experience, or basis for an argument. □ Sensing she was on shaky ground, Marie changed the subject. □ The French are on solid ground when they argue that competitiveness is no reason for devaluation. □ It's often necessary to go over the same ground more than once.
10 N‑UNCOUNT Ground is used in expressions such as gain ground , lose ground , and give ground in order to indicate that someone gets or loses an advantage. [JOURNALISM ] □ There are signs that the party is gaining ground in the latest polls. □ The U.S. dollar lost more ground.
11 N‑VAR If something is grounds for a feeling or action, it is a reason for it. If you do something on the grounds of a particular thing, that thing is the reason for your action. □ [+ for ] In the interview he gave some grounds for optimism. □ The court overturned that decision on the grounds that the Prosecution had withheld crucial evidence. □ [+ of ] Owen was against it, on the grounds of expense.
12 VERB If an argument, belief, or opinion is grounded in something, that thing is used to justify it. □ [be V -ed + in ] Her argument was grounded in fact. □ [V n + on ] They believe the soul is immortal, grounding this belief on the Divine nature of the human spirit.
13 VERB If an aircraft or its passengers are grounded , they are made to stay on the ground and are not allowed to take off. □ [be V -ed] The civil aviation minister ordered all the planes to be grounded. □ [V n] He did not give the order to ground the shuttle, but he concurred with it.
14 VERB When parents ground a child, they forbid them to go out and enjoy themselves for a period of time, as a punishment. □ [V n] Thompson grounded him for a month, and banned television.
15 VERB If a ship or boat is grounded or if it grounds , it touches the bottom of the sea, lake, or river it is on, and is unable to move off. □ [be V -ed] Residents have been told to stay away from the region where the ship was grounded. □ [V ] The boat finally grounded on a soft, underwater bank. □ [V -ed] …a grounded oil tanker.
16 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The ground in an electric plug or piece of electrical equipment is the wire through which electricity passes into the ground and which makes the equipment safe. [AM ] in BRIT, use earth 17 ADJ Ground meat has been cut into very small pieces in a machine. [mainly AM ] □ …ground beef. □ …The sausages are made of coarsely ground pork. in BRIT, usually use minced 18 Ground is the past tense and past participle of grind .
19 → see also grounding , home ground
20 PHRASE If you break new ground , you do something completely different or you do something in a completely different way. [APPROVAL ] □ Gellhorn may have broken new ground when she filed her first report on the Spanish Civil War.
21 PHRASE If you say that a town or building is burnt to the ground or is razed to the ground , you are emphasizing that it has been completely destroyed by fire. [EMPHASIS ] □ The town was razed to the ground after the French Revolution.
22 PHRASE If two people or groups find common ground , they agree about something, especially when they do not agree about other things.
23 PHRASE If you go to ground , you hide somewhere where you cannot easily be found. [BRIT ] □ Citizens of East Beirut went to ground in basements and shelters.
24 PHRASE If you hit the ground running , you start working quickly or effectively from the time when something first begins. □ It is beneficial to an employer to hire someone who knows the ropes and can hit the ground running.
25 PHRASE The middle ground between two groups, ideas, or plans involves things which do not belong to either of these groups, ideas, or plans but have elements of each, often in a less extreme form. □ What you did was either great or nothing, there was no middle ground.
26 PHRASE If something such as a project gets off the ground , it begins or starts functioning. □ We help small companies to get off the ground.
27 PHRASE If you prepare the ground for a future event, course of action, or development, you make it easier for it to happen. □ …a political initiative which would prepare the ground for war.
28 PHRASE If you shift your ground or change your ground , you change the basis on which you are arguing.
29 PHRASE If you stand your ground or hold your ground , you continue to support a particular argument or to have a particular opinion when other people are opposing you or trying to make you change your mind. □ The spectacle of Sakharov standing his ground and speaking his mind gave me hope.
30 PHRASE If you stand your ground or hold your ground , you do not run away from a situation, but face it bravely. □ She had to force herself to stand her ground when she heard someone approaching.