common ground — shared interest or agreement
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
A topic, interest, or opinion that two or more people agree on, even if they are different in other ways.
Say it like a native
Textbook We managed to identify areas of mutual agreement.
Native We found some common ground.
'Areas of mutual agreement' is negotiation jargon; 'find common ground' is the natural phrase.
Pattern: find/have/seek common ground (with someone)
In use
- Even though we have different backgrounds, we found common ground in our love of music.relationships
- In my opinion, finding common ground is important when working in a team because it helps everyone cooperate better.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ We have a common ground on this.
✓ We have common ground on this.
Uncountable — no 'a'. Say 'find/have common ground'.
Common collocations
find/have common ground— find, have, some, on
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'middle ground,' which often means a compromise between two sides.