World Book 1997 4.0

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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: ground - groundedly</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="ground"> ground (1), noun, adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. the solid part of the earth's surface. Ex. A blanket of snow covered the ground. He looked on the ground while he answered her (Scott). <DD> 2. soil; earth; dirt. Ex. And here the maiden, sleeping sound, On the dank and dirty ground (Shakespeare). (SYN) loam, mold. <DD> 3. a particular piece of land. Ex. low ground, rising ground. <DD> 4. Often, grounds. any piece of land or region used for some purpose. Ex. fishing grounds, picnic grounds. The West was his favorite hunting ground. <DD> 5. Often grounds. (Figurative.) the foundation for what is said, thought, claimed, or done; basis; reason. Ex. There is no ground for complaining of his conduct. On what grounds do you say that is true? (SYN) premise, motive. <DD> 6a. any material surface for working upon, such as a layer of gesso on a panel or canvas for painting, a coating of wax on a metal plate for etching, or the meshes on which the pattern is worked in lacemaking. <DD> b. background. Ex. The cloth has a blue pattern on a white ground. <DD> 7. the solid bottom underlying a body of water. Ex. to strike ground in taking soundings. <DD> 8. the connection of an electrical conductor with the earth, so that the electricity passes off into it. <DD> 9. a connection in a radio or television set for the conductor that leads to the earth. <DD> 10. the pit of a theater. <DD>adj. 1. of the ground; on the ground. Ex. the ground floor. <DD> 2. basic; fundamental. <DD> 3. living or growing in, on, or close to the ground. <DD>v.t. 1. to put on the ground; cause to touch the ground. Ex. to ground arms. <DD> 2. (Figurative.) <DD> a. to fix firmly; establish. Ex. His beliefs are grounded on facts. <DD> b. to instruct in the first principles or elements. Ex. The class is well grounded in arithmetic. <DD> 3. to furnish with a background for painting, decorating, or the like. <DD> 4. to connect (an electric wire or other conductor) with the earth, so that the electricity passes off into it. Ex. When the charged body is grounded ... it and the whole earth become a single conductor (Shortley and Williams). <DD> 5. to cause (a ship or boat) to run ashore or aground. <DD> 6. to keep (a pilot or an aircraft) from flying. Ex. The pilot was grounded by injury. Trucks and trains can operate in storms that may ground airplanes (Ernest W. Williams, Jr.). <DD> 7. (U.S. Informal.) to keep (a boy or girl) from going out socially, especially as a punishment. <DD>v.i. 1. to run aground; hit the bottom or shore. Ex. The boat grounded in shallow water. <DD> 2. (Baseball.) to hit a bouncing or rolling ball. expr. above (the) ground, alive. Ex. While I remain above the ground, you shall hear from me still (Shakespeare). expr. break ground, <DD> a. to turn up soil with a plow, shovel, etc.; dig; plow. Ex. to break ground for a new school. <DD> b. to begin building. <DD> c. (Figurative.) to execute a plan or venture. Ex. He showed no inclination to break new ground (New York Times). expr. cover ground, <DD> a. to go over a certain distance or area; travel. Ex. Did you cover much ground on the hike? <DD> b. (Figurative.) to do a certain amount of work. Ex. We covered considerable ground in our history class today. expr. cut the ground from under one (or under one's feet), to spoil one's defense or argument by meeting it in advance. Ex. A witness with evidence to the contrary cut the ground from under the defense attorney's argument. expr. fall to the ground, (of schemes) to fail; be given up. Ex. It fell to the ground with the rest of the King's plans and attempts (Horace Walpole). expr. from the ground up, completely; entirely; thoroughly. Ex. We conducted our research from the ground up. expr. gain ground, <DD> a. to go forward; advance; progress. Ex. The fresh troops gained much ground against the exhausted enemy. <DD> b. (Figurative.) to become more common or widespread. Ex. His ideas are gaining ground. expr. get off the ground, to make a start; go forward; advance. Ex. The magazine never got off the ground (Time). expr. give ground, to retreat; yield. Ex. They come, no man give ground ... Be Englishmen and beard them to their faces (Thomas Dekker). expr. ground out, (Baseball.) to be put out on hitting a grounder. Ex. The youngster ... calmly threw home to start a run-nipping double play, and then got [the outfielder] to ground out (Time). expr. grounds, <DD> a. land, lawns, and gardens around a house or other building. Ex. the grounds of an estate. <DD> b. small bits that sink to the bottom of a drink such as coffee or tea; dregs; sediment. Ex. Pour the grounds down the drain. expr. hold one's ground, to keep one's position; not retreat or yield. Ex. He could not hold his ground in the face of relentless opposition. expr. lose ground, <DD> a. to go backward; retreat; yield. Ex. We lost ground because of the storm. <DD> b. (Figurative.) to become less common or widespread. Ex. Superstition and illiteracy are losing ground as people become more educated. <DD> c. (Figurative.) to lose advantage. Ex. To deal plainly with you, you have lost some ground at Court by it (James Howell). expr. run into the ground, (Informal.) to carry to an extreme; overdo. Ex. You have a good idea, but I hope you won't run it into the ground. expr. shift one's ground, to change one's position; use a different defense or argument. Ex. A friend, as willing to shift his ground as I, gave me an overture which I accepted (Richard Ligon). expr. stand one's ground, to keep one's position; refuse to retreat or yield. Ex. The Deserters ... stood their ground, and ... fired on 'em (London Gazette). expr. take ground, to take up, or move into, a certain position. Ex. Take ground to the right (or left) in fours (F. A. Griffiths). </DL> <A NAME="ground"> ground (2), verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD>verb a past tense and past participle of grind. Ex. The miller ground the corn into meal. The wheat was ground to make flour. <DD>adj. 1. reduced to fine particles by grinding or crushing. Ex. ground black pepper. <DD> 2. subjected to the action or process of grinding. Ex. a finely ground edge on a tool. </DL> <A NAME="groundage"> groundage, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British, Commerce.) a charge levied on ships entering a port, or lying offshore. </DL> <A NAME="groundalert"> ground alert,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a state of readiness in which aircraft and crews are ready for immediate take-off in defense against enemy aircraft. <DD> 2. the signal to take stations for such defense. </DL> <A NAME="groundbait"> ground bait,<DL COMPACT><DD> bait thrown to the bottom of the water to attract fish. </DL> <A NAME="groundball"> ground ball,<DL COMPACT><DD> (Baseball.) a grounder. </DL> <A NAME="groundbased"> ground-based, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> based or located on the ground. </DL> <A NAME="groundbass"> ground bass,<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) a melodic figure constantly repeated in the bass while the remainder of the texture is developed freely. </DL> <A NAME="groundbeetle"> ground beetle,<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a family of mostly predacious, terrestrial beetles. </DL> <A NAME="groundblackberry"> ground blackberry, =dewberry.</DL> <A NAME="groundbreaker"> groundbreaker, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who begins or helps the beginning of something; pioneer; innovator. </DL> <A NAME="groundbreaking"> groundbreaking, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of breaking ground to begin building. </DL> <A NAME="groundburst"> groundburst, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the explosion of a bomb at the surface, as contrasted with an airburst. </DL> <A NAME="groundcherry"> ground cherry,<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of American plants of the nightshade family, such as one bearing edible, yellow berries, and the strawberry tomato; husk tomato. </DL> <A NAME="groundcloth"> ground cloth, =groundsheet.</DL> <A NAME="groundconnection"> ground connection,<DL COMPACT><DD> the electric wire or other conductor used to produce a ground. </DL> <A NAME="groundcontrol"> ground control,<DL COMPACT><DD> the supervision and control of aircraft operations by a station or system of stations on the ground. </DL> <A NAME="groundcontrolledapproach"> ground controlled approach,<DL COMPACT><DD> an approach and landing by an aircraft under ground control, due to poor visibility. (Abbr:) GCA (no periods). </DL> <A NAME="groundcontroller"> ground controller,<DL COMPACT><DD> a man in charge of controlling flight operations from a station on the ground. </DL> <A NAME="groundcover"> ground cover,<DL COMPACT><DD> low plants or shrubbery planted for ornament or to enrich the soil and prevent the topsoil from eroding or blowing away. </DL> <A NAME="groundcrew"> ground crew,<DL COMPACT><DD> the mechanics and other nonflying personnel responsible for the conditioning and maintenance of aircraft. </DL> <A NAME="groundcuckoo"> ground cuckoo, =road runner.</DL> <A NAME="groundcushion"> ground cushion,<DL COMPACT><DD> (Aeronautics.) a buoyant cushion of air set up by the air driven downward by an airplane or a helicopter hovering or flying close to the ground. </DL> <A NAME="grounddove"> ground dove,<DL COMPACT><DD> a small grayish dove, only 6 1/2 inches long, found from the southern United States to Brazil. </DL> <A NAME="groundedly"> groundedly, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a well-grounded manner; with good reason. </DL> <A HREF="groundef.dic">NEXT</A>