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Synonyms

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.

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.

Sheinbaum’s negotiators look ready to give ground on technical issues like increasing U.S. content thresholds for North American cars or restraining Chinese “back door” investment in Mexico.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

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

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2023

That will make it hard for her to give ground in the dispute with Brussels.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2022

“Iran may calculate that its unconstrained nuclear advances and unmonitored centrifuge production will put more pressure on the West to give ground in talks quickly,” Eurasia analyst Henry Rome said in a note.

From Reuters • Nov. 28, 2021

Both Walt and Billie are tightly wound, emotional, loath to give ground.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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.