break ground

Definition

To begin digging in the earth at the start of a new construction, or, originally, for cultivation.

Example Sentences

• "They broke ground on the new library last month."
• "Try to break a little more land every year; sod corn is good for fodder. Keep turning the land, and always put up more hay than you need."
• "Just over a year on from Notice-to-Proceed, HS2 Ltd launched the first of ten tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will dig 64 miles of tunnels on Phase 1. Florence broke ground on May 13, and was joined by Cecilia in the week commencing June 29 [...] to bore a pair of ten-mile-long tunnels beneath the Chilterns."