a·bove·ground (?-b?v?ground?)adj.1. Situated or taking place on or above the surface of the ground: aboveground nuclear testing.2. Operating or existing within the establishment; conventional: journalistic practices unacceptable to the aboveground press.a·bove?ground? adv.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.a?bove?ground (??b?v?gra?nd) adj. 1. situated on or above the ground. 2. not secret, hidden; open. [1875?80] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.