🗓️ Idiom: Hit the Ground Running
💬 Meaning
- To start a new job or task with immediate energy, efficiency, or effectiveness.
- It implies being prepared and ready to contribute from the very beginning without needing time to adjust.
🧠 Example Sentences
- We need someone who can hit the ground running and start contributing on day one.
- She hit the ground running in her new role, quickly impressing the whole team.
- The intern hit the ground running and even led a meeting in her first week.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom originated from military and sports contexts, where soldiers or athletes had to start moving fast immediately upon landing or starting. Today, it’s widely used in business and employment scenarios to mean starting fast and effectively.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The new manager really __________ the ground running and improved team morale immediately.
Answer
hit
2. Choose the correct meaning of “hit the ground running”:
A) To start slowly and carefully
B) To immediately begin working efficiently
C) To stumble at the beginning of a task
Answer
B) To immediately begin working efficiently
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“He began the new job with great energy and immediately delivered results.” → Change the sentence using: hit the ground running
Answer
He hit the ground running in the new job and immediately delivered results.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 HR and Recruitment Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
