aground
/ə'graund/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Describes a ship, boat, or other vessel that is stuck because its bottom is resting on the ground, seabed, or shore, preventing it from floating freely.
- Adverb:
- Describes the manner or result of a vessel's movement, meaning it has become stuck on the ground or shore.
Usage
- Adjective: Used after a verb like "be," "lie," or "remain" to describe the state of a vessel.
- Adverb: Used after a verb like "run," "go," or "drift" to describe the action that caused the vessel to become stuck.
Examples
- Adjective:
- The tanker was aground on a sandbar for three days.
- We found the fishing boat aground and abandoned.
- Adverb:
- The captain accidentally ran the ship aground in the fog.
- The storm caused the yacht to go aground.
Advanced Usage
- "To be hard and fast aground": Emphasizes that a vessel is firmly and immovably stuck.
- The freighter is hard and fast aground; it will need tugboats to be refloated.
- Used figuratively to describe a plan or process that has been completely halted or stuck.
- The negotiations ran aground over the issue of funding.
Variants and Related Words
- Ground (verb): To cause a vessel to touch the bottom or run aground. ()
- Strand (verb): To leave someone or something, like a ship, in a helpless position. ()
- Reef (noun): A ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water, often causing vessels to run aground.
Synonyms
- Beached: Specifically when a vessel is driven or pulled onto a beach.
- Stranded: Left in a difficult or helpless position, often aground.
- High and dry: Left out of the water, often by a receding tide.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Run aground: To cause a vessel to become stuck on the bottom.
- The oil tanker ran aground, causing an environmental disaster.
- Go aground: To become stuck on the bottom (often used without specifying a direct cause).
- The sailboat went aground during the night.
Related Idioms
- Run aground: Used metaphorically for plans, relationships, or projects that fail or stop progressing.
- Their ambitious project ran aground due to a lack of public support.
Adjective
- stuck in a place where a ship can no longer float
- a ship aground offshore
- a boat aground on the beach waiting for the tide to lift it
Adverb
- with the bottom lodged on the ground
- he ran the ship aground