How to Use groundwork in a Sentence

groundwork

noun
  • The last week of games has just laid the groundwork.
    — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The man who laid the groundwork for it all wasn’t around to see it.
    — Dallas News, 15 Dec. 2022
  • This new study lays the groundwork for more research.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The Phillies have the groundwork in place for their high school prospects.
    — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 11 July 2025
  • Schumer plans to lay the groundwork for that proposal as soon as next week.
    — Jennifer Haberkorn, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2021
  • Pence allies have been laying the groundwork for him for months.
    — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 5 June 2023
  • Use this time for the unglamorous groundwork that pays off later.
    — Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
  • To her, the rhetoric sounded like groundwork for deeper cuts to come.
    — Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 30 June 2026
  • So, yes, maybe autocrats lay the groundwork for their own demise.
    — Gerald F. Seib, WSJ, 12 July 2021
  • Use the program to lay that groundwork early.
    — Hinza Asif, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Cruz’s former chief of staff laid the groundwork for making that point more than a year ago.
    — Aaron Blake, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Jan. 2022
  • And who knows, maybe one of those tertiary marks will lay the groundwork for the next uniform shake-up.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 24 June 2025
  • That lay the groundwork for their Evusheld request, Suite said.
    — Eric Boodman, STAT, 9 Jan. 2022
  • Aptos is already laying the groundwork for that to take shape.
    — Anne Sraders, Fortune, 10 July 2022
  • Still, the partners behind the flight argue that the groundwork has to be laid now.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 11 June 2026
  • The skill, the belief and the groundwork were already there when the moment came.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Building the groundwork for a state trade commission can take years.
    — P.r. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2026
  • That all builds the groundwork for stronger connections in the future.
    — NBC News, 12 July 2021
  • This is the theme of the episode, and the groundwork is laid early with the mini-challenge.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2026
  • But behind the scenes, the groundwork had been laid for a process that has continued for weeks.
    — Phil Mattingly, CNN, 11 Mar. 2022
  • The project, researchers say, will lay the groundwork for future space travel.
    — Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2022
  • Villeneuve has spent years laying the groundwork for this moment.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
  • The quarterback sets the tone and lays the groundwork for that bond, even if others have a strong voice.
    — Marla Ridenour, USA TODAY, 6 July 2022
  • The timeline may feel distant, but the groundwork begins now.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Behind July's brief flight lay years of groundwork.
    — Andrew Jones, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2025
  • While there are still a lot of hoops to jump through before a deal like this could happen, the groundwork makes a lot of sense.
    — Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Tesla appears to be laying that groundwork now.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
  • This groundwork led to the harbor trials that kicked off earlier this month.
    — New Atlas, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Its filings with the government have laid the groundwork for a future court fight.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 22 June 2026
  • So there is a bit of this groundwork of someone who is aware that there is maybe something cosmic going on.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'groundwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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