ground level

noun

plural ground levels

1

a

: the level of the ground taken as a reference point

From ground level, the arrayed fields of feed corn and soybeans look … like sprint tracks or Olympic pools, replete with the angles and alleys of serious tennis.

—David Foster Wallace

These survey flights were conducted at 300 feet above ground level. During the return flight to Schefferville, the aircraft descended and flew over terrain at an altitude varying between 100 and 40 feet above ground level.

—Targeted New Service

compare sea level

b

: the story (see story entry 3 sense 1a) of a building with its floor aligned to ground level : ground floor sense 1

It was a two-story house with white siding on the ground level …

—Neil Sheehan

2

: the state of a physical system (as of an atomic nucleus or an atom) having the least energy of all the possible states : ground state

Examples of ground level in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The coast of Florida will be particularly vulnerable to storm surge from the ocean, reaching as high as 20 feet above ground level. —Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2024

The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the planet from the Sun's radiation, but ozone that forms at ground level—caused by a chemical reaction in the sunlight between pollutants such as car exhaust fumes—can be dangerous. —Chloe Mayer, Newsweek, 9 July 2024

In late winter, remove one-third of the largest, oldest stems at ground level. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2024

The machine’s design allows the heat and intensity of the flames sparked to remain under control, burning the dry vegetation not only at ground level but extending below it, Haddad said. —Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1