groundwork
noun
Simple meaning
Preliminary preparation as a basis or foundation.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
growndwerkSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɹaʊndwɚk
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Preliminary preparation as a basis or foundation
“We are prepared today because of groundwork that was done ten years ago.”
The foundation; the basic or fundamental parts that support or allow for the rest.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Preliminary preparation as a basis or foundation
Used this way, groundwork is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“We are prepared today because of groundwork that was done ten years ago.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “groundwork that …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: groundwork that …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use groundwork
- “We are prepared today because of groundwork that was done ten years ago.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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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.