break ground
Idioms-
Also, break new ground.
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Begin digging into the earth for new construction of some kind. For example, When will they break ground for the town hall? This usage alludes to breaking up the land with a plow. [Early 1700s]
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Take the first steps for a new venture; advance beyond previous achievements. For example, Jeff is breaking new ground in intellectual property law . [Early 1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Although Beach Cities Health District has entered a ground lease agreement with Sunrise, the project still needs to advance through several layers of city approval before it can break ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
“Starting this summer, the West Gateway project will break ground and by summer 2028, over 12 million tons of clean beautiful coal per year will be shipped to countries all around the world,” Trump said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The developers hope to break ground by the end of the year on the 60-acre facility at a former oil terminal in Bayonne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Family members loaned Thang four glittering one-luong bars -- a standard Vietnamese unit equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces -- to break ground on his house in 2022.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
Foremole and his team knew all there was to know about the diggings: depth, approximate dimensions, the placement of shoring, even where the first rat’s head was likely to break ground.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
