groundwork

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From ground +‎ work.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡɹaʊndˌwɜːɹk/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

groundwork (countable and uncountable, plural groundworks)

  1. The foundation; the basic or fundamental parts that support or allow for the rest.
    The discovery of the laws of electricity laid the groundwork for a century of innovation.
    • 1961 December, “Planning the London Midland main-line electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 720:
      This outline programme was compiled by a working party consisting of members from the Regional Planning Office, the civil, mechanical and electrical, and signal engineering departments and the traffic services, on the basis of much groundwork done within each of these departments.
    • 2009 April 24, Tony Naylor, “Emerging victorious”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 February 2024:
      Oft-derided, even in its 2002 heyday, no one expected electroclash to last. But, just as sonic heirs such as La Roux or Little Boots capitalise on their groundwork, the old electro guard return with works of real solidity and depth.
    • 2026 March 20, Gooseworx, “hjsakldfhl” (19:55 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus‎[2], episode 8, spoken by Kinger (Sean Chiplock):
      Caine was pretty rough around the edges, though. I wasn't quite on Scratch's level of thinking outside the box, but it was good groundwork for something the rest of the team could wrap their heads around.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

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