Word.ws English Dictionary

broke ground

broke ground is the simple past of break ground.

Meaning of break ground

Verb

break ground (third-person singular simple present breaks ground, present participle breaking ground, simple past broke ground, past participle broken ground)

  1. (literally) To begin digging in the earth at the start of a new construction, or, originally, for cultivation.
    • They broke ground on the new library last month.
  2. (figuratively) To initiate a new venture, or to advance beyond previous achievements.
    • The invention breaks ground in its programming and its structure.
  3. To lift off the sea bottom when being weighed.
  4. To separate from the ground on takeoff; to become airborne.

Questions about broke ground

What is broke ground the simple past of?
Broke ground is the simple past of break ground.

Words near broke ground in the dictionary

  1. broke even
  2. broke fast
  3. broke free
  4. broke from
  5. broke gates
  6. broke ground
  7. broke in
  8. broke into
  9. broke into a run
  10. broke it
  11. broke it down

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: broke ground (page history and authors); break ground (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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