(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ is the surface of the earth.
Forty or fifty women were sitting cross-legged on the ~...
We slid down the roof and dropped to the ~.
N-SING: the N
•
Something that is below ~ is under the earth’s surface or under a building. Something that is above ~ is on top of the earth’s surface.
People were making for the air-raid shelters below ~.
PHRASE
2.
If you say that something takes place on the ~, you mean it takes place on the surface of the earth and not in the air.
Coordinating airline traffic on the ~ is as complicated as managing the traffic in the air.
N-SING: oft N n
3.
The ~ is the soil and rock on the earth’s surface.
The ~ had eroded.
...the marshy ~ of the river delta.
N-SING: usu the N
4.
You can refer to land as ~, especially when it has very few buildings or when it is considered to be special in some way.
...a stretch of waste ~...
This memorial stands on sacred ~.
N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp
5.
You can use ~ to refer to an area of land, sea, or air which is used for a particular activity.
...Indian hunting ~s...
The best fishing ~s are around the islands.
N-COUNT: supp N
6.
A ~ is an area of land which is specially designed and made for playing sport or for some other activity. In American English ~s is also used.
...the city’s football ~.
...a parade ~.
N-COUNT: supp N
7.
The ~s of a large or important building are the garden or area of land which surrounds it.
...the palace ~s.
...the ~s of the University.
N-PLURAL: usu with supp, oft N of n, n N
8.
You can use ~ to refer to a place or situation in which particular methods or ideas can develop and be successful.
The company has maintained its reputation as the developing ~ for new techniques...
Colonialism is especially fertile ~ for nationalist ideas.
N-VAR: with supp, oft N for n
9.
You can use ~ in expressions such as on shaky ~ and the same ~ to refer to a particular subject, area of experience, or basis for an argument.
Sensing she was on shaky ~, Marie changed the subject...
The French are on solid ~ when they argue that competitiveness is no reason for devaluation...
It’s often necessary to go over the same ~ more than once.
N-UNCOUNT: supp N, oft on adj N
10.
Ground is used in expressions such as gain ~, lose ~, and give ~ in order to indicate that someone gets or loses an advantage. (JOURNALISM)
There are signs that the party is gaining ~ in the latest polls...
The US dollar lost more ~.
N-UNCOUNT
11.
If something is ~s for a feeling or action, it is a reason for it. If you do something on the ~s of a particular thing, that thing is the reason for your action.
In the interview he gave some ~s for optimism...
The court overturned that decision on the ~s that the Prosecution had withheld crucial evidence...
Owen was against it, on the ~s of expense.
N-VAR: N for n, on N with supp
12.
If an argument, belief, or opinion is ~ed in something, that thing is used to justify it.
Her argument was ~ed in fact...
They believe the soul is immortal, ~ing this belief on the Divine nature of the human spirit.
= base
VERB: be V-ed in/on n, V n in/on n
13.
If an aircraft or its passengers are ~ed, they are made to stay on the ~ and are not allowed to take off.
The civil aviation minister ordered all the planes to be ~ed...
A hydrogen leak forced NASA to ~ the space shuttle.
VERB: be V-ed, V n
14.
When parents ~ a child, they forbid them to go out and enjoy themselves for a period of time, as a punishment.
Thompson ~ed him for a month, and banned television.
VERB: V n
15.
If a ship or boat is ~ed or if it ~s, it touches the bottom of the sea, lake, or river it is on, and is unable to move off.
Residents have been told to stay away from the region where the ship was ~ed...
The boat finally ~ed on a soft, underwater bank.
...a ~ed oil tanker.
VERB: be V-ed, V, V-ed
16.
The ~ in an electric plug or piece of electrical equipment is the wire through which electricity passes into the ~ and which makes the equipment safe. (AM; in BRIT, use earth )
N-COUNT: usu sing
17.
Ground meat has been cut into very small pieces in a machine. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use minced )
...~ beef.
...The sausages are made of coarsely ~ pork.
ADJ
18.
Ground is the past tense and past participle of grind .
19.
see also ~ing , home ~
20.
If you break new ~, you do something completely different or you do something in a completely different way.
Gellhorn may have broken new ~ when she filed her first report on the Spanish Civil War.
PHRASE: V inflects approval
21.
If you say that a town or building is burnt to the ~ or is razed to the ~, you are emphasizing that it has been completely destroyed by fire.
The town was razed to the ~ after the French Revolution.
PHRASE: V inflects emphasis
22.
If two people or groups find common ~, they agree about something, especially when they do not agree about other things.
PHRASE
23.
If you go to ~, you hide somewhere where you cannot easily be found. (BRIT)
Citizens of East Beirut went to ~ in basements and shelters.
PHRASE: V inflects
24.
The middle ~ 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.
She seems to have found a middle ~ in which mutual support, rather than complete dependency, is possible.
PHRASE: oft PHR between n
25.
If something such as a project gets off the ~, it begins or starts functioning.
We help small companies to get off the ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR
26.
If you prepare the ~ for a future event, course of action, or development, you make it easier for it to happen.
...a political initiative which would prepare the ~ for war.
PHRASE: V inflects
27.
If you shift your ~ or change your ~, you change the basis on which you are arguing.
PHRASE: V inflects
28.
If you stand your ~ or hold your ~, 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 ~ and speaking his mind gave me hope.
PHRASE: V inflects
29.
If you stand your ~ or hold your ~, you do not run away from a situation, but face it bravely.
She had to force herself to stand her ~ when she heard someone approaching.
PHRASE: V inflects
30.
If you say that something such as a job or piece of clothing suits someone down to the ~, you mean that it is completely suitable or right for them. (BRIT INFORMAL)
PHRASE: V inflects emphasis
31.
If people or things of a particular kind are thin on the ~, there are very few of them. (mainly BRIT)
Good managers are often thin on the ~.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
32.
to have one’s ear to the ~: see ear