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.
After Toyota broke ground in Georgetown, Ky., in 1986, the industry followed.
They lost their 1923-era home in the fire, but are preparing to break ground on a new home in the same style as their old one.
From Los Angeles Times
AEG, too, will not be breaking ground on this project in the near future, a company representative said.
From Los Angeles Times
In September, it broke ground on its first nuclear power plant at INL, one of 42 federally funded laboratories in the U.S.
From Barron's
Or it could be a startup like PsiQuantum, which is building large-scale quantum computers in Australia and in Chicago, where it broke ground in September.
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.
