Synonyms

from the ground up

Idioms

From the very beginning; also, completely, thoroughly. For example, We've had to learn a new system from the ground up, or The company changed all of the forms from the ground up. This expression alludes to the construction of a house, which begins with the foundation.

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.

"It's clear that Italian football needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that starts with changes at the top of the FIGC," Abodi said in a statement.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

“Having built this category from the ground up it feels like extra pressure on us to keep it alive,” Bullock said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

Aguado explains that this approach allows researchers to construct the system from the ground up.

From Science Daily • Feb. 16, 2026

What if, rather than building homes on-site from the ground up, they were cranked out of factories, one unit after another, shipped to where they were needed and dropped into place?

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

They’d move my eyes closer together, reposition my nostrils and build me a new nose from the ground up.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023