FIELD


Meaning of FIELD in English

/ fiːld; NAmE / noun , verb

■ noun

AREA OF LAND

1.

[ C ] an area of land in the country used for growing crops or keeping animals in, usually surrounded by a fence, etc. :

People were working in the fields.

a ploughed field

a field of wheat

We camped in a field near the village.

2.

[ C ] (usually in compounds) an area of land used for the purpose mentioned :

a landing field

a medal for bravery in the field (of battle)

—see also airfield , battlefield , minefield

3.

[ C ] (usually in compounds) a large area of land covered with the thing mentioned; an area from which the thing mentioned is obtained :

ice fields

gas fields

—see also coalfield , goldfield , oilfield , snowfield

SUBJECT / ACTIVITY

4.

[ C ] a particular subject or activity that sb works in or is interested in

SYN area :

famous in the field of music

All of them are experts in their chosen field.

This discovery has opened up a whole new field of research.

PRACTICAL WORK

5.

[ C ] (usually used as an adjective) the fact of people doing practical work or study, rather than working in a library or laboratory :

a field study / investigation

field research / methods

essential reading for those working in the field

—see also field trip , fieldwork

IN SPORT

6.

( BrE also pitch ) [ C ] (usually in compounds) an area of land used for playing a sport on :

a baseball / rugby / football, etc. field

a sports field

Today they take the field (= go on to the field to play a game) against county champions Essex.

—see also playing field

7.

( in cricket and baseball ) [ sing.+ sing./pl. v . ] the team that is trying to catch the ball rather than hit it

8.

[ sing.+ sing./pl. v . ] all the people or animals competing in a particular sports event :

The field includes three world-record holders.

IN BUSINESS

9.

[ sing.+ sing./pl. v . ] all the people or products competing in a particular area of business :

They lead the field in home entertainment systems.

PHYSICS

10.

[ C ] (usually in compounds) an area within which the force mentioned has an effect :

the earth's gravitational field

an electro-magnetic field

COMPUTING

11.

[ C ] part of a record that is a separate item of data :

You will need to create separate fields for first name, surname and address.

IDIOMS

- leave the field clear for sb | leave sb in possession of the field

- play the field

■ verb

CANDIDATE / TEAM

1.

[ vn ] to provide a candidate, speaker, team, etc. to represent you in an election, a competition, etc. :

Each of the main parties fielded more than 300 candidates.

England fielded a young side in the World Cup.

IN CRICKET / BASEBALL

2.

[ v ] to be the person or the team that catches the ball and throws it back after sb has hit it :

He won the toss and chose to field first.

3.

[ vn ] to catch the ball and throw it back :

He fielded the ball expertly.

QUESTIONS

4.

[ vn ] to receive and deal with questions or comments :

The BBC had to field more than 300 phone calls after last night's programme.

••

WORD ORIGIN

Old English feld (also denoting a large tract of open country; compare with veld ), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch veld and German Feld .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.