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Added 3 October 2026

ground

/ɡɹaʊnd/ noun

In Latin: solum Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ground at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
Look, I found a ten dollar bill on the ground!
Terrain.
Soil, earth.
The worm crawls through the ground.

verb

To connect (an electrical conductor or device) to a ground.
To electrocute.
To punish, especially a child or teenager, by forcing them to stay at home and/or give up certain privileges.
If you don't clean your room, I'll have no choice but to ground you.

verb

simple past and past participle of grind
I ground the coffee up nicely.

adjective

Crushed, or reduced to small particles.
ground mustard seed
Processed by grinding.
lenses of ground glass

Origin

From Middle English ground, from Old English grund, from Proto-West Germanic *grundu, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz. Cognate with West Frisian grûn, Dutch grond and German Grund. (to punish): Compare (to bring) down to earth, to come down to earth.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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