land, dry land, earth, ground, solid ground, terra firma (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"

reason, ground (noun)

a rational motive for a belief or action

"the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"

earth, ground (noun)

the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface

"they dug into the earth outside the church"

footing, basis, ground (noun)

a relation that provides the foundation for something

"they were on a friendly footing"; "he worked on an interim basis"

ground (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"

background, ground (noun)

the part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground

"he posed her against a background of rolling hills"

land, ground, soil (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"

ground (noun)

a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused

ground, earth (noun)

a connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage)

ground (noun)

(art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a painting

flat coat, ground, primer, priming, primer coat, priming coat, undercoat (verb)

the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surface

anchor, ground (verb)

fix firmly and stably

"anchor the lamppost in concrete"

ground (verb)

confine or restrict to the ground

"After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot"

ground (verb)

place or put on the ground

ground (verb)

instruct someone in the fundamentals of a subject

ground, strand, run aground (verb)

bring to the ground

"the storm grounded the ship"

ground, run aground (verb)

hit or reach the ground

ground (verb)

throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage

ground (verb)

hit a groundball

"he grounded to the second baseman"

ground (verb)

hit onto the ground

prime, ground, undercoat (verb)

cover with a primer; apply a primer to

ground (verb)

connect to a ground

"ground the electrical connections for safety reasons"

establish, base, ground, found (verb)

use as a basis for; found on

"base a claim on some observation"

Ground

In electrical engineering, ground or earth can refer to the reference point in an electrical circuit from which other voltages are measured, or a common return path for electric current, or a direct physical connection to the Earth. Electrical circuits may be connected to ground for several reasons. In mains powered equipment, exposed metal parts are connected to ground to prevent user contact with dangerous voltage if electrical insulation fails. Connections to ground limit the build-up of static electricity when handling flammable products or electrostatic-sensitive devices. In some telegraph and power transmission circuits, the earth itself can be used as one conductor of the circuit, saving the cost of installing a separate return conductor. For measurement purposes, the Earth serves as a constant potential reference against which other potentials can be measured. An electrical ground system should have an appropriate current-carrying capability to serve as an adequate zero-voltage reference level. In electronic circuit theory, a "ground" is usually idealized as an infinite source or sink for charge, which can absorb an unlimited amount of current without changing its potential. Where a real ground connection has a significant resistance, the approximation of zero potential is no longer valid. Stray voltages or earth potential rise effects will occur, which may create noise in signals or if large enough will produce an electric shock hazard.