common ground

noun

1. a foundation of common interest or comprehension, as in a social relationship or a discussion.

common ground

noun

1. an agreed basis, accepted by both or all parties, for identifying issues in an argument

Word History and Origins

Origin of common ground¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Idioms and Phrases

Shared beliefs or interests, a foundation for mutual understanding. For example, The European Union is struggling to find common ground for establishing a single currency . [1920s]

Example Sentences

The President truly believes the relationships he built over decades in the Senate could help him find common ground.

From Time

Overlooked is the common ground shared by those who draw different conclusions on the finer points of available research.

From Washington Post

The breach is telling lies when we need truth, greed when we need compassion, fighting one another when we need to find common ground, and hating when we ought to be loving.

From Time

We now know that we all dream differently but perhaps somehow we can still find common ground.

From Washington Post

The common ground they share is that both are in the top four, for now, while others are on the outside looking in.

From FiveThirtyEight

The LGBT movement looked for places where we could find common ground, and focused there.

From The Daily Beast

It became a model, rarely emulated, of how digital tools can be used to find common ground in a contentious society.

From The Daily Beast

Tellingly, Rieux finds common ground with every character except the priest.

From The Daily Beast

The priests conclude that there is common ground on even the most contentious topics that pit science versus spirituality.

From The Daily Beast

But even his worst opponents can find common ground with him on their shared dedication to details.

From The Daily Beast

To write with authority about another man, we must have fellow-feeling and some common ground of experience with our subject.

From Project Gutenberg

But Hollister could never find himself on any common ground of mutual interest with this sporting Englishman.

From Project Gutenberg

They differ typically in movement or composition; they have a common ground in diction.

From Project Gutenberg

And in this common ground each influenced the other from the beginning of recorded criticism.

From Project Gutenberg

There seemed no way that men and prowlers could ever meet on common ground.

From Project Gutenberg