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aground

adverb · adjective

Simple meaning

With the bottom lodged on the ground.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhgrownd

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əɡˈɹaʊnd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. nauticalof a normally floating craft

    With the bottom lodged on the ground

  2. nauticalof a normally floating craft

    Resting on the bottom.

adjective

  1. nauticalof a normally floating craft

    Resting on the bottom.

  2. by extension

    At a loss, ruined, with no way out

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: With the bottom lodged on the ground

Used this way, aground is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a nautical use: it is standard at sea and largely unfamiliar ashore.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Sailing/maritime
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use aground

  • “A ship aground offshore.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

runs agroundships aground

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.