ground floor

American  

noun

ground floors plural

1. the floor of a building at or nearest to ground level.

2. 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.

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ground floor British  

noun

1. the floor of a building level or almost level with the ground

2. informal

   1. to enter a business, organization, etc, at the lowest level

   2. to be in a project, undertaking, etc, from its inception

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ground floors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ground floor

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

There are close to 1,000 residential units in historic buildings at the intersection of Broadway and 5th Street, Bastian said, but all the ground floor stores are closed.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

Standing before it, Khalaf saw how the wall of the adjacent building had toppled onto the ground floor, flooding the shop with rubble and coating everything with a film of fine gray dust.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026

Representatives for Chase Bank said on Tuesday the compnay was "aware of the ongoing situation occurring at the building where our branch is located on the ground floor".

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

But guessing which companies will initiate their first dividend can be a way to get in on the ground floor.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

I wanted to lie in a French crib and start from scratch, learning the language from the ground floor up.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris