as in foundation
an immaterial thing upon which something else rests
they had collectively laid the groundwork for a new kind of art
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of groundwork
The 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act, passed just two years after Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in public schools, laid the groundwork for the physical reshaping of American cities.
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Deborah N. Archer, Time, 21 May 2025
Those comments led many to point fingers at Riley for laying the groundwork for the rivalry’s possible demise.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
His experiments laid the groundwork for ChatGPT, released in 2022.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
The defense deal lays the groundwork for Britain to eventually become a bigger part of European defense efforts, including a 150 billion euro loan program for joint procurement and investment.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for groundwork
Recent Examples of Synonyms for groundwork
Noun
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Drawing on a unique educational foundation that combines mechanical engineering, business, metaphysics, and computer science, Gopi connects patterns that others might miss through his academic research.—
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The explicit mention of male-female relationships as the foundation of families and the injustice of harming the unborn seems to firmly settle the question of whether such topics were open for negotiation during his reign.—
Noun
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Now, it’s being discussed and measured in people’s bloodwork on a more widespread basis.—
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These human rights groups were nowhere to be seen when these terrorists were violating the human rights of millions of people on a daily basis.—
Noun
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As products shift from enhancing operations to becoming operational cornerstones, management complexity increases.—
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More than 850 local suppliers contributed to the ambitious task of constructing the legendary town of Macondo from the ground up, turning a cornerstone of Colombian literature into a tangible, culturally rich reality.—
Noun
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Congress’ positions on procedural issues, such as raising the debt ceiling or eliminating the filibuster, also increasingly depend not on bedrock principles but on who occupies the White House.—
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Increasingly, however, the interviews that are the bedrock of film coverage are fewer, shorter and more lightweight, often to the point of being useless for anyone trying to write a serious piece.—
Cite this Entry
“Groundwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groundwork. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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