ground floor
Americannoun
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ground floors
plural
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the floor of a building at or nearest to ground level.
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Informal. an advantageous position or opportunity in a business matter, especially in a new enterprise.
She took the job in the new company because she wanted to get in on the ground floor.
noun
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the floor of a building level or almost level with the ground
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informal
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to enter a business, organization, etc, at the lowest level
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to be in a project, undertaking, etc, from its inception
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ground floor
First recorded in 1595–1605
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.
The project’s estimated $52-million cost includes $22 million in VA funds identified as “commercial cost” for development of the ground floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The ground floor features an open great room with a wood-paneled ceiling and a wall of bifold glass doors, which open to a landscaped conversation area.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
"We've been here since day one, digging holes all the way down to the ground floor," the 50-year-old carpenter told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
During a heatwave, sleeping on the ground floor or north-facing side of the home may help.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
In a cell on the ground floor, the light shifts dark shapes into a small stool, a scrawny table, and a bed made of wooden boards with no mattress or blanket.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
