ground

/ɡɹaʊnd/

//ɡɹaʊnd// noun

"ground" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ground” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #735 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#735
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ground vs group
67% similar
ground vs grown
67% similar
ground vs grunt
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ground
PropertyValue
Headwordground
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɹaʊnd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#735
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ground” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ground lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ground is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹaʊnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #735 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 23 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for ground, with forms such as "gground", "gorund", and "gronud". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "group", "grown", "grunt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem-der. Proto-Germanic *grunduz Old English grund Middle English ground English ground From Middle English ground, from Old English grund, from Proto-West Germanic *grundu, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz. Cognate with We… The correct English form is ground, spelled G-R-O-U-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
  2. 2
    Terrain.
  3. 3
    Soil, earth.
  4. 4
    The bottom of a body of water.
  5. 5
    Basis, foundation, groundwork, legwork.
  6. 6
    Reason, (epistemic) justification, cause.
  7. 7
    Background, context, framework, surroundings.
  8. 8
    The area on which a battle is fought, particularly as referring to the area occupied by one side or the other. Often, according to the eventualities, "to give ground" or "to gain ground".
  9. 9
    Advantage given or gained in any contest; e.g. in football, chess, debate or academic discourse.
  10. 10
    A place suited to a specified activity.
  11. 11
    The plain surface upon which the figures of an artistic composition are set.
  12. 12
    A flat surface upon which figures are raised in relief.
  13. 13
    The net of small meshes upon which the embroidered pattern is applied.
  14. 14
    A gummy substance spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle.
  15. 15
    One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which mouldings etc. are attached.
  16. 16
    A soccer stadium.
  17. 17
    An electrical conductor connected to the earth, or a large conductor whose electrical potential is taken as zero (such as a steel chassis).
  18. 18
    Electric shock.
  19. 19
    The area of grass on which a match is played (a cricket field); the entire arena in which it is played; the part of the field behind a batsman's popping crease where he can not be run out (hence to make one's ground).
  20. 20
    A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody.
  21. 21
    The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song.
  22. 22
    The pit of a theatre.
  23. 23
    Synonym of munny (“land measure”).

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem-der. Proto-Germanic *grunduz Old English grund Middle English ground English ground From Middle English ground, from Old English grund, from Proto-West Germanic *grundu, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz. Cognate with West Frisian grûn, Dutch grond and German Grund.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: gground,gorund,gronud,groudn,groundd,grounnd,grround,gruond,rgound

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ground - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

gground1gorund2gronud2groudn2groundd1grounnd1grround1gruond2
Edit distance from "ground"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ground"?
"ground" is spelled G-R-O-U-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹaʊnd/.
What does "ground" mean?
As a noun, "ground" means: The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
What words are commonly confused with "ground"?
"ground" is commonly confused with "group", "grown", "grunt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ground"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ground" is /ɡɹaʊnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ground"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem-der. Proto-Germanic *grunduz Old English grund Middle English ground English ground From Middle English ground, from Old English grund, from Proto-West Germanic *grundu, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz. Cogna... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “ground”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-R-O-U-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɡɹaʊnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “group” - see the side-by-side comparison. ground vs group
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list