from the ground up

Idioms  

1. From the very beginning; also, completely, thoroughly. For example, We've had to learn a new system from the ground up, or The company changed all of the forms from the ground up. This expression alludes to the construction of a house, which begins with the foundation.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

from the ground up

In 1942, for example, Franklin D. Roosevelt tore down most of the East Wing and rebuilt it from the ground up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Zoox’s vehicles are built from the ground up and can’t be directly driven by a human.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Instead of searching nature for a substance with the needed properties, the LSU team chose to engineer one from the ground up.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

Keaton spent a staggering eight years building the home, which effectively saw her rebuilding it from the ground up, a process that she documented in her 2017 book.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Then he made it his home away from home and began painstakingly to learn the town from the ground up, while searching for a family whose experience would carry a narrative.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times