go to ground
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.09 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
Of an animal, to escape into a burrow, hole, etc. when being hunted.
British usage; Intransitive verb
verb
To hide from public view or sequester oneself, especially when authorities, members of the news media, or others are looking for one.
Example Sentences
- "The fox escaped from the hounds by going to ground."
- "I heard them on the other bank, and then saw a man on a horse crossing the river, and went to ground like a jackal."
- "It was more than enough for my fugitives to clear out of the Lausanne station and make some new move, to hide away in an out-of-the-way spot, go to ground in fact, or travel in another direction."
- "Kerviel's identity was revealed on the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph websites, but was not confirmed by bank officials, who admitted on Thursday that the rogue trader appeared to have gone to ground and that they had no idea where he was."
- "There can never have been a more blatant voluntary tackle than the way the Saints captain Chris Joynt went to ground on the penultimate play of the game, to deny Bradford any chance of regaining possession after Sean Long's drop goal 30 seconds or so earlier."
- "He defends well and his recovery is good, meaning he can get up and get back at people if he goes to ground."
Usage
- British usage
- Intransitive verb