noun
1
BAD : The plane flew over enemy ground.
GOOD : The plane flew over enemy territory.
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FLOOR · GROUND · GROUNDS · LAND · TERRITORY · SOIL
The floor is the surface that you walk on when you are indoors: ‘Our cat likes to sit on the floor under my desk.’ ‘It’s about time someone cleaned the kitchen floor.’
The ground is the surface that you walk on when you are outdoors: ‘The ground was covered with snow.’ ‘In the middle of the forest was a bare patch of marshy ground.’
Grounds refers to the area surrounding and belonging to a school, hospital, hotel, stately home, etc, usually enclosed by a wall or fence: ‘Parking within the hospital grounds is strictly prohibited.’
Land refers to (1) an area of ground that is owned or used by someone, or that is controlled by a particular country: ‘All the land from here to the stream belongs to the Pattersons.’‘Disagreements about land have led to many wars.’
(2) (also the land ) the part of the Earth’s surface that is not covered by water: ‘After three days at sea, I was looking forward to being on land again.’
Territory is the area that is controlled by a particular country, army or power: ‘One of the results of losing the war was that the country had to give up almost half its territory.’ ‘They had wandered by mistake into enemy territory.’
Soil is the material in which plants and trees grow: ‘This plant needs rich soil to grow well.’
2
BAD : They do not have enough food or ground to grow it on.
GOOD : They do not have enough food or land to grow it on.
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See Language Note above
3
BAD : Gradually the ground loses the ability to hold water.
GOOD : Gradually the soil loses the ability to hold water.
BAD : My job is to analyse samples of ground.
GOOD : My job is to analyse samples of soil.
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See Language Note above
4
BAD : People who suffer from backache often sleep on the ground.
GOOD : People who suffer from backache often sleep on the floor.
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See Language Note above
5
BAD : The school building is very old and the ground is very small.
GOOD : The school building is very old and the grounds are very small.
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See Language Note above
6
BAD : A shot rang out and one of the men fell on the ground.
GOOD : A shot rang out and one of the men fell to the ground.
BAD : I fell on the ground, hoping that nobody had seen me.
GOOD : I fell to the ground, hoping that nobody had seen me.
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Use on the ground when you are thinking about position: 'Someone had dropped one of their gloves on the ground.' 'We sat down on the ground just outside the cage.'
When you are thinking about downward movement or (violent) movement from a standing position, use to the ground : 'The parachute failed to open and he plummeted to the ground.' 'The impact knocked him spinning to the ground.' 'They pushed him to the ground and grabbed his wallet.'