Ground word meaning and definition

[noun] the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surface
[noun] (art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a painting
[noun] a connection between an electrical device and the earth (which is a zero voltage)
[noun] a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused
[noun] the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground; "he posed her against a background of rolling hills"
[noun] a position to be won or defended in battle (or as if in battle); "they gained ground step by step"; "they fought to regain the lost ground"
[noun] a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"
[noun] the solid part of the earth's surface; "the plane turned away from the sea and moved back over land"; "the earth shook for several minutes"; "he dropped the logs on the ground"
[noun] material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use); "the land had never been plowed"; "good agricultural soil"
[noun] a relation that provides the foundation for something; "they were on a friendly footing" or"he worked on an interim basis"
[noun] the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface; "they dug into the earth outside the church"
[adjective] broken or pounded into small fragments; used of e.g. ore or stone; "paved with crushed bluestone"; "ground glass is used as an abrasive"
[verb] use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some observation"
[verb] instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject
[verb] connect to a ground, of electrical connections for safety reasons
[verb] fix firmly and stably; "anchor the lamppost in concrete"
[verb] cover with a primer; apply a primer to
[verb] hit (a baseball) onto the ground
[verb] hit a groundball, in baseball; "he grounded to the second baseman"
[verb] throw (a football) to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage
[verb] place or out on the ground
[verb] confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"
[verb] hit or reach the ground
[verb] bring to the ground, as of vessels

\Ground\ (ground), n. [OE. ground, grund, AS. grund; akin to D. grond, OS., G., Sw., & Dan. grund, Icel. grunnr bottom, Goth. grundus (in composition); perh. orig. meaning, dust, gravel, and if so perh. akin to E. grind.] 1. The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or some indefinite portion of it. There was not a man to till the ground. --Gen. ii. 5. The fire ran along upon the ground. --Ex. ix. 23. Hence: A floor or pavement supposed to rest upon the earth. 2. Any definite portion of the earth's surface; region; territory; country. Hence: A territory appropriated to, or resorted to, for a particular purpose; the field or place of action; as, a hunting or fishing ground; a play ground. From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground. --Milton. 3. Land; estate; possession; field; esp. (pl.), the gardens, lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the grounds of the estate are well kept. Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds. --Dryden. 4. 4. The basis on which anything rests; foundation. Hence: The foundation of knowledge, belief, or conviction; a premise, reason, or datum; ultimate or first principle; cause of existence or occurrence; originating force or agency; as, the ground of my hope. 5. (Paint. & Decorative Art)
(a) That surface upon which the figures of a composition are set, and which relieves them by its plainness, being either of one tint or of tints but slightly contrasted with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a white ground. See {Background}, {Foreground}, and {Middle-ground}.
(b) In sculpture, a flat surface upon which figures are raised in relief.
(c) In point lace, the net of small meshes upon which the embroidered pattern is applied; as, Brussels ground. See {Brussels lace}, under {Brussels}. 6. (Etching) A gummy composition spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle. 7. (Arch.) One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; -- usually in the plural. Note: Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them. 8. (Mus.)
(a) A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody.
(b) The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song. --Moore (Encyc.). On that ground I'll build a holy descant. --Shak. 9. (Elec.) A conducting connection with the earth, whereby the earth is made part of an electrical circuit. 10. pl. Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs; lees; feces; as, coffee grounds. 11. The pit of a theater. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. {Ground angling}, angling with a weighted line without a float. {Ground annual} (Scots Law), an estate created in land by a vassal who instead of selling his land outright reserves an annual ground rent, which becomes a perpetual charge upon the land. {Ground ash}. (Bot.) See {Groutweed}. {Ground bailiff} (Mining), a superintendent of mines. --Simmonds. {Ground bait}, bits of bread, boiled barley or worms, etc., thrown into the water to collect the fish, --Wallon. {Ground bass} or {base} (Mus.), fundamental base; a fundamental base continually repeated to a varied melody. {Ground beetle} (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of carnivorous beetles of the family {Carabid[ae]}, living mostly in burrows or under stones, etc. {Ground chamber}, a room on the ground floor. {Ground cherry}. (Bot.)
(a) A genus ({Physalis}) of herbaceous plants having an inflated calyx for a seed pod: esp., the strawberry tomato ({P. Alkekengi}). See {Alkekengl}.
(b) A European shrub ({Prunus Cham[ae]cerasus}), with small, very acid fruit. {Ground cuckoo}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Chaparral cock}. {Ground cypress}. (Bot.) See {Lavender cotton}. {Ground dove} (Zo["o]l.), one of several small American pigeons of the genus {Columbigallina}, esp. {C. passerina} of the Southern United States, Mexico, etc. They live chiefly on the ground. {Ground fish} (Zo["o]l.), any fish which constantly lives on the botton of the sea, as the sole, turbot, halibut. {Ground floor}, the floor of a house most nearly on a level with the ground; -- called also in America, but not in England, the {first floor}. {Ground form} (Gram.), the stem or basis of a word, to which the other parts are added in declension or conjugation. It is sometimes, but not always, the same as the root. {Ground furze} (Bot.), a low slightly thorny, leguminous shrub ({Ononis arvensis}) of Europe and Central Asia,; -- called also {rest-harrow}. {Ground game}, hares, rabbits, etc., as distinguished from winged game. {Ground hele} (Bot.), a perennial herb ({Veronica officinalis}) with small blue flowers, common in Europe and America, formerly thought to have curative properties. {Ground of the heavens} (Astron.), the surface of any part of the celestial sphere upon which the stars may be regarded as projected. {Ground hemlock} (Bot.), the yew ({Taxus baccata} var. Canadensisi) of eastern North America, distinguished from that of Europe by its low, straggling stems. {Ground hog}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The woodchuck or American marmot ({Arctomys monax}). See {Woodchuck}.
(b) The aardvark. {Ground hold} (Naut.), ground tackle. [Obs.] --Spenser. {Ground ice}, ice formed at the bottom of a body of water before it forms on the surface. {Ground ivy}. (Bot.) A trailing plant; alehoof. See {Gill}. {Ground joist}, a joist for a basement or ground floor; a. sleeper. {Ground lark} (Zo["o]l.), the European pipit. See {Pipit}. {Ground laurel} (Bot.). See {Trailing arbutus}, under {Arbutus}. {Ground line} (Descriptive Geom.), the line of intersection of the horizontal and vertical planes of projection. {Ground liverwort} (Bot.), a flowerless plant with a broad flat forking thallus and the fruit raised on peduncled and radiated receptacles ({Marchantia polymorpha}). {Ground mail}, in Scotland, the fee paid for interment in a churchyard. {Ground mass} (Geol.), the fine-grained or glassy base of a rock, in which distinct crystals of its constituents are embedded. {Ground parrakeet} (Zo["o]l.), one of several Australian parrakeets, of the genera {Callipsittacus} and {Geopsittacus}, which live mainly upon the ground. {Ground pearl} (Zo["o]l.), an insect of the family {Coccid[ae]} ({Margarodes formicarum}), found in ants' nests in the Bahamas, and having a shelly covering. They are strung like beads, and made into necklaces by the natives. {Ground pig} (Zo["o]l.), a large, burrowing, African rodent ({Aulacodus Swinderianus}) about two feet long, allied to the porcupines but with harsh, bristly hair, and no spines; -- called also {ground rat}. {Ground pigeon} (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of pigeons which live largely upon the ground, as the tooth-billed pigeon ({Didunculus strigirostris}), of the Samoan Islands, and the crowned pigeon, or goura. See {Goura}, and {Ground dove} (above). {Ground pine}. (Bot.)
(a) A blue-flowered herb of the genus {Ajuga} ({A. Cham[ae]pitys}), formerly included in the genus

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