phrasal verb · academic
break ground on
UK/breɪk ˈɡraʊnd ɒn/US/breɪk ˈɡraʊnd ɑn/break GRO·und on
to start building something, or to start a significant project
Examples
“City officials broke ground on the new hospital yesterday.”
“The company plans to break ground on a research centre next year.”
“They broke ground on the stadium after the funding was approved.”
Band 8 sentence
“The university broke ground on its new science complex amid much fanfare from the local community.”
Collocations
- break ground on a new hospital/stadium/project
- break ground next month/this year
Word family
Common mistakes
start the ground→break ground on
break new ground→break ground on / break new ground
Say it for a higher band
5start the ground→6start building→7+break ground on
Synonyms
commence construction
start building
Easily confused
commence construction
“Work will commence next month on the new bridge.”
break new ground
“The research team broke new ground in genetics.”
Related words
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In break …
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