lay the groundwork

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

lay the groundwork (third-person singular simple present lays the groundwork, present participle laying the groundwork, simple past and past participle laid the groundwork)

1. (idiomatic, figurative) To create a foundation; to provide the basics or fundamentals.

   The introductory mathematics courses will lay the groundwork for all your subsequent engineering studies.

   • 2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian:

     Arrests and prosecutions intensified after Isis captured Mosul in June, but the groundwork had been laid by an earlier amendment to Jordan’s anti-terrorism law. It is estimated that 2,000 Jordanians have fought and 250 of them have died in Syria – making them the third largest Arab contingent in Isis after Saudi Arabians and Tunisians.

Translations

To provide the basics

• Bashkir: нигеҙ һалыу (nigeź halıw)
• Finnish: pohjustaa (fi), luoda perusta (+ allative)
• French: préparer le terrain (fr)
• German: Grunstein legen, Grundstein legen
• Greek: προετοιμάζω το έδαφος (proetoimázo to édafos)
• Italian: preparare il terreno
• Polish: kłaść podwaliny
• Portuguese: preparar o terreno
• Russian: заложи́ть основу (založítʹ osnovu), заложи́ть фунда́мент (založítʹ fundáment)
• Spanish: sentar las bases
• Telugu: రంగం సిద్ధం చేయు (raṅgaṁ siddhaṁ cēyu)