grounding

Pluralgroundings

1. 1
   nounusually singular

   Basic knowledge or background that serves as a foundation in a field or discipline.

   The course offers a thorough grounding in the principles of economics.

   Without a firm grounding in statistics, the results are easy to misread.

   Similarfoundation, background, basis, training, schooling

   Note

   Learning laid down like a foundation takes its name simply from ground plus -ing, and it nearly always takes in: a grounding in economics, a firm grounding in statistics. A 1963 review of British Railways' Diesel Traction Manual for Enginemen uses the same pattern. Thorough and firm are its natural partners. The verb behind it means to instruct someone in first principles, so a grounding is what that teaching leaves behind.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A punishment in which a child is forbidden from going out or using electronics for a set period.

   The grounding lasted a month, with no phone and no trips to the mall.

   After the bad report card, a grounding seemed inevitable.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The connected metal chassis or frame of a device, joined to earth through a designated conductor, which carries no current in normal operation.

   Like a safety drain that carries dangerous overflow away from where people stand.

   Faulty grounding allowed the metal casing to become live during the short circuit.

   Inspectors verified the grounding throughout the building's electrical system.

   Similarearthing

   Note

   To an electrician, grounding names a physical path, not an act. It is the bonded metal that leads back to earth at the service panel. It sits idle in normal operation. Its job is to carry fault current away safely and hold exposed metal at earth potential. That is why it may be bare or insulated, unlike the conductors that carry the load. The verb behind it, to ground a conductor, is marked as American usage.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   An official ban that prevents aircraft from taking off, imposed by government action.

   The grounding of the entire fleet cost the airline millions.

   Regulators ordered an immediate grounding after the second crash.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   The collision of a ship with the seabed beneath the water.

   The grounding left the tanker stranded on the sandbar until high tide.

   An error in navigation led to the grounding of the cargo ship.

6. 6
   noununcountable

   The process of returning to full, ordinary awareness once a psychedelic experience subsides.

   Sitters often guide the grounding once the most intense effects subside.

   His grounding came gently as colors returned to normal.

7. 7
   noununcountable

   An energy practice in which one visualizes roots descending into the earth to absorb energy using chi.

   The teacher led the class through grounding before the breathing exercises.

   He practices grounding each morning to draw energy up from the earth.

8. 8
   nouncountable

   The background surface of a piece of embroidery, against which the design is worked.

   The embroiderer worked the motif onto a silk grounding.

   A contrasting grounding made the raised stitches stand out.

   Similarbackground

9. 9
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of ground.

   The airline is grounding its entire fleet for inspection.

   Grounding the wire properly prevents electric shocks.

   Note

   Two grammars share one spelling, and the construction tells them apart. In "is grounding its fleet" the word is a progressive verb with be. In "the grounding of the fleet" it is a noun followed by of. The verb also has uses with no matching noun. In cricket, a player grounds the bat to avoid being run out. In the Philippines, to ground someone means to electrocute them.

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