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Glite Dictionary
aground

aground

14 6.7
A boat stuck on the bottom of the sea or river so it cannot move
  • adjective
  • /əˈɡraʊnd/
translation icon : encallado
  • We dreaded running aground in the dark.
  • run aground
  • ship ran aground
  • go aground

And so he decides to steer the boat too close to the shore and it goes aground and it starts to sink.

Examples

  • After the storm, many boats were found aground on the beach, stranded until the high tide returned.

  • The fishing boat was left aground after the tide went out, unable to sail back to shore.

  • You know, Captain Cook ran aground in these waters.

    In Like Flynn (2018)

  • And in the case of a ship that has run aground, repairs must be made first.

    Blog text (31)

  • There were civilian sea captains killed far from home when their ships ran aground on the reef.

    Academic text (2005)

  • And wouldn't you know it, we ran aground on a sandbar.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Their four-month voyage ended when the ship ran aground in the night off Rockaway Peninsula in June.

    Academic text (1993)

  • A tanker has run aground... ...on the coastline, spilling millions of gallons of oil on Baby Seal Beach.

    Confessions of an American Bride (2007)

  • The cruise ship Costa Concordia partially sank on January 13, 2012, when it ran aground at Isla del Giglio, Italy.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Officials reported that the cargo ship ran aground, blocking the shipping lane for several hours.

Synonyms

stranded
vsaground
3 4.0

Unable to leave a place because no help or transport is available

is specifically resting on a water bottom and unable to move
marooned
vsaground
1 7.9

Alone in a place you cannot leave

is stuck on a water bottom rather than abandoned and isolated

Antonyms

afloat
1 2.0

Floating on water like a boat and not sinking

How Stuck

aground
14 6.7

Surface Forms

aground positive

Morphology

aground = ground (semi-transparent) = a + ground

The link to 'ground' is clear, but the prefix 'a-' is not productive for most learners and the nautical meaning 'stuck on the bottom' is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Aground comes from the old a- meaning 'on' and the word ground, so it originally meant 'on the ground'. That's why aground now describes a ship or boat that is sitting on the sea bottom or shore and cannot move.