common ground
Meaning(s)
1. a basis of mutual interest or agreement
Popularity
High
Professional
High
Social
How to Memorize
have/find/share/reach common ground with someone
Analysis
Common ground refers to an area of mutual interest or agreement between two parties or shared interests or opinions between two people or separate groups. If you find common ground you find a point where everyone involved agrees or has an interest in. This is a useful phrase in social and professional contacts to talk about consensus or mutual interests.
Social Examples (Basic)
- I may disagree with Robert about a lot of things, but we found common ground when we started talking about football. It turns out that we both support the same team.
- Mary didn't like Jack at first, but once she got to know him better she found that they shared a lot of common ground.
Professional Examples (Basic)
- After a lot of back and forth, the heads of the two companies met in person to see if they could reach common ground over how the merger should proceed.
- We seem to have a lot of differing opinions in the room let's work towards finding a common ground so we can move forward.