The ordinary people in a business or organisation, rather than the management or the decision-makers.

The ordinary and common people, often agrarian. Term generally refers to movements / political parties created by them rather than by professionals, elitists or established leaders.

1650s, from grass + root (n.). The image of grass roots as the most fundamental level of anything is from 1901; U.S. political sense of "the rank and file of the electorate" (also grassroots [..]

made up of people who are not socially or economically elite and do not represent the government.

Political activity that originates locally, or arises from ground level.

A group or organization that originates from or maintains close connections with significant numbers of ordinary citizens or citizen leaders. A grass roots campaign, for instance, seeks to mobilize ordinary citizens to take part in an election campaign or a cause involving an important issue.

A term used by ACBL to describe an event for which qualification begins at the club or unit level. Pairs or teams that qualify must further qualify at the district level in order to compete in the fin [..]

(idiomatic) People and society at the local (most basic) level rather than at the national centre of political activity The essential foundation or source of something