Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Situated or taking place on or above the surface of the ground.
  • adjective Operating or existing within the establishment; conventional.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Above the surface of the ground.
  • adjective figuratively Above the surface.
  • adjective Not dead and buried; alive.
  • adjective Existing, produced, or published by or within the establishment.
  • noun The portion of society that is not underground.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective on or above the surface of the ground

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

above +‎ ground

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word aboveground.

Examples

  • You can get from the subway to the Manulife center without going aboveground, which is great when it rains.

    Eric Lurio: Here We Go Again! The Toronto Film Festival is about to start! 2009

  • Evapotranspiration and albedo may be affected by ecosystem properties such as aboveground biomass or leaf area index

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Jeremy Lundholm et al. 2010

  • Lexicon defines "aboveground" extremist groups as those whose members "operate overtly and portray themselves as law-abiding," even though they are really part of the conspiracy to topple the republic.

    City Journal 2009

  • What lay behind the WU trajectory, however, was not merely frustration with the shortcomings of the "aboveground" movement, or long-term strategic thinking.

    In These Times 2009

  • Impatient to get back aboveground and deal with Telly, it was hard to keep still.

    Crossed J.F. Lewis 2011

  • The subway goes aboveground, and New York in all its drabness slides past the window.

    Miracles, Inc. T.J. Forrester 2011

  • I think, from a lifetime of being involved in real estate ventures, that we'll be lucky to see it happen in our lifetimes .... and this is assuming we'll hang out aboveground for more than ten more years.

    You Don�t Need a Weatherman 2009

  • The mortuary had cleared the snow from the grave, and the casket lay aboveground for our makeshift ceremony.

    Miles to Go Richard Paul Evans 2011

  • I think, from a lifetime of being involved in real estate ventures, that we'll be lucky to see it happen in our lifetimes .... and this is assuming we'll hang out aboveground for more than ten more years.

    You Don�t Need a Weatherman 2009

  • I think, from a lifetime of being involved in real estate ventures, that we'll be lucky to see it happen in our lifetimes .... and this is assuming we'll hang out aboveground for more than ten more years.

    You Don�t Need a Weatherman 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.