From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
ground
n 1: 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" [syn: land, dry land, earth, ground, solid
ground, terra firma]
2: a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that
war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration" [syn:
reason, ground]
3: the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the
land surface; "they dug into the earth outside the church"
[syn: earth, ground]
4: a relation that provides the foundation for something; "they
were on a friendly footing"; "he worked on an interim basis"
[syn: footing, basis, ground]
5: 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"
6: the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in
the foreground; "he posed her against a background of rolling
hills" [syn: background, ground]
7: 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" [syn: land, ground, soil]
8: a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure
on which attention is focused [ant: figure]
9: a connection between an electrical device and a large
conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at
zero voltage) [syn: ground, earth]
10: (art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the
paint for a painting
11: the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a
surface [syn: flat coat, ground, primer, priming,
primer coat, priming coat, undercoat]
v 1: fix firmly and stably; "anchor the lamppost in concrete"
[syn: anchor, ground]
2: confine or restrict to the ground; "After the accident, they
grounded the plane and the pilot"
3: place or put on the ground
4: instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject
5: bring to the ground; "the storm grounded the ship" [syn:
ground, strand, run aground]
6: hit or reach the ground [syn: ground, run aground]
7: throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being
tackled behind the line of scrimmage
8: hit a groundball; "he grounded to the second baseman"
9: hit onto the ground
10: cover with a primer; apply a primer to [syn: prime,
ground, undercoat]
11: connect to a ground; "ground the electrical connections for
safety reasons"
12: use as a basis for; found on; "base a claim on some
observation" [syn: establish, base, ground, found]