From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishon the groundon the groundHEREin the place or situation where something important is happening, rather than somewhere else – used especially in news reports While the politicians talk of peace, the situation on the ground remains tense. → ground
Examples from the Corpus
on the ground• That marked the first time that solar neutrons were detected on the ground.• The egg is infective on the ground in about two weeks at optimal temperatures.• He sat cross-legged on the ground and stared into the black grid on the front of the radio. 2.25 p.m.• People on the ground would be trying to blast us out of the air.• Putting these things in place on the ground will be our job.• But when you sleep on the ground a lot, you get to see all sorts of bugs.• That does not say much for the top chasers of the day, which are very thin on the ground.• Over five thousand dead and wounded men were on the ground, in every attitude of distress. 