groundbreaking
Americannoun
adjective
-
of or relating to such a ceremony.
-
originating or pioneering a new endeavor, field of inquiry, or the like.
Pasteur's groundbreaking work in bacteriology.
Etymology
Origin of groundbreaking
First recorded in 1905–10; ground 1 + break + -ing 1, -ing 2
Explanation
Something groundbreaking is brand new, important, and original, like groundbreaking research that proves your cat really does love you. As a noun, groundbreaking is the traditional way of marking the very first day of a building project, when the ground is officially "broken," either literally with a shovel or figuratively. You could even attend the groundbreaking of a groundbreaking new hotel that's heated and cooled with sustainable geothermal energy. This word comes from the phrase to break ground, originally used to describe both construction and planting crops.
Vocabulary lists containing groundbreaking
Kwame Crashes the Underworld
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The Ice Cream Machine
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Ida B
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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.
Titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” Monday’s encyclical was explicitly inspired by Leo XIII’s groundbreaking 1891 encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” Latin for “of new things.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
Our study provides this foundation, and we’re proud that it’s been published in the same journal in which Charles Darwin first shared his groundbreaking ideas.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
A selection of the 50p coins will also include what the Royal Mint called a "groundbreaking caustic feature".
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Isaacson is a so-called super-responder to GLP-1s, and his experience sheds light on how these groundbreaking drugs work differently in different people.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
After going wacko at the groundbreaking ceremony, Chuck E. Muckle got demoted to the post of assistant junior vice-president.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
