give ground

Idioms  

1. Yield to a stronger force, retreat, as in He began to give ground on that point, although he didn't stop arguing entirely. This expression originated in the 1500s, when it alluded to a military force retreating and so giving up territory to the enemy. By the mid-1600s it was being used figuratively.

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Example Sentences

The Chinese statements on his meetings in Beijing this week didn’t appear to give ground on the issues that divide the EU and China.

From Seattle Times

Did the SFA give ground on some of the points raised?

From BBC

If the SFA didn't give ground, then what significant inroads were made in the hours it took to reach a resolution?

From BBC

The 24-year-old Mbappé is locked in a contract standoff and neither side seems prepared to give ground.

From Seattle Times

For months, seemingly endless waves of Russian soldiers waged assaults and the local commander, who goes by the nickname Sokil, or Falcon, conceded that his soldiers had been killed and forced to give ground in the months while Ukraine was fighting defensively.

From New York Times

Related Words

• abandon
• back down
• back off
• backtrack
• depart
• escape
• evacuate
• fall back
• go
• go back
• hide
• leave
• pull out
• recede
• reel
• retire
• reverse
• shrink
• withdraw