aground

/əˈgraʊnd/

Aground describes a boat that's accidentally gone ashore, or is stuck on the bottom of a lake or other body of water. If your kayak goes aground, you may need to get out and push it further out in the bay.

When you use the word aground, you're almost certainly talking about a boat or ship. If a sailboat runs aground, its hull can be damaged, which might even cause the boat to take on water. Running aground can be a minor inconvenience, or a major accident. Since about 1500, the adjective aground has been a nautical term that generally means "stranded on land."

Definitions of aground

1. adverb

   with the bottom lodged on the ground
   “he ran the ship aground”
2. adjective

   stuck in a place where a ship can no longer float
   “a ship aground offshore”

   “a boat aground on the beach waiting for the tide to lift it”

   antonyms:

   afloat

   swimming or floating in water

   adrift

   afloat on the surface of a body of water

   floating

   borne up by or suspended in a liquid

   waterborne

   supported by water