get off the ground

Idioms  

1. Make a start, get underway, as in Because of legal difficulties, the construction project never got off the ground. This expression, alluding to flight, dates from the mid-1900s. The similar-sounding get off to a flying start, meaning “make a successful start,” alludes not to flight but to a quick start in a race, a usage from the late 1800s. For example, He's off to a flying start with his dissertation.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

get off the ground

In recent years, the state has pivoted toward hydrogen for buses, trucks and port equipment, but these too have struggled to get off the ground.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

When Marymass organisers posted on social media that the all-female team was entering, Bex replied underneath: "Are we excited for it? Absolutely. Will we even get off the ground? Who knows?"

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Many grading reforms fail to get off the ground because universities are reluctant to regulate the grading practices of individual professors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

And since American doesn’t like it either, it looks a deal won’t get off the ground.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

Each of these women, on her own, gauged the wind of her nation and used it to help her sister pilots get off the ground.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein