Definition of: "break new ground" with explanation and origin
Definition of: break new ground with explanation and origin? Meaning of break new ground with examples in English idiom dictionary.
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Definition of: "break new ground" with explanation and origin
break new ground
break new ground,
also, break fresh ground
Meaning
- to do something innovative
- pioneer
- discover
- invent
- make progress
Example Sentences
- Advancements in computer technology break new ground almost every day.
- George Washington Carver would ironically break new ground by pioneering the practice of crop rotation.
- Just by waking up today and being present, you are actively breaking new ground.
- Albert Einstein’s Relativity, paired with Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia, broke new ground, paving the way for physics as we know it today.
- It is an interesting discovery in the energy conservation field in the United States that definitely breaks new ground in the country’s energy program.
- The key to a successful business is to let go of the old ways and break fresh ground.
Origin
To “break new ground” is a phrase as old as civilization itself. Deriving from the literal act of digging into the Earth’s top layer to level out the topography and build new structures upon it, “breaking new ground” has a diverse capability of usage that ranges across the board of discovery as a whole.
Miners, excavators, farmers, archaeologists, arborists, and even (maybe especially) dogs are all prime examples of how, why, and when this idiom came to be popularized in its current context.
Whether you’re in a lab using quantum physics to break new ground in astoundingly unheard-of ways or you’re six years old, making mud pies by breaking new ground in the front yard with your siblings; discoveries are vital for human existence.
The Origins of break new ground
Assorted, BusinessEnglish
Related Dictionary
- English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
- English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
- Dictionnaire Français
- Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français
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English Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
