I. field 1 S1 W1 /fiːld/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: feld ]
1 . FARM an area of land in the country, especially one where crops are grown or animals feed on grass:
a view of green fields and rolling hills
field of
a field of wheat
corn/rice/wheat etc field
working in the cotton fields
2 . SUBJECT a subject that people study or an area of activity that they are involved in as part of their work
field of
her work in the field of human rights
Peter’s an expert in his field.
He’s the best-known American outside the field of (=not connected with) politics.
3 . SPORT an area of ground where sports are played
a baseball/football/cricket etc field
the local soccer field
on/off the field
The team have had a bad year, both on and off the field.
Fans cheered as the players took the field (=went onto the field) .
4 . PRACTICAL WORK work or study that is done in the field is done in the real world rather than in a class or ↑ laboratory
in the field
His theories have not yet been tested in the field.
field trials/testing/research etc ⇨ ↑ field trip , ↑ fieldwork
5 . COMPETITORS
a) all the people, companies, products etc that are competing against each other:
the field of candidates for the election
be ahead of/lead the field (=be doing better than the others)
Germany was leading the field with a figure of 53%.
b) all the horses or runners in a race:
Prince led the field (=was ahead of the others) as they came around the final bend.
6 . magnetic/gravitational/force field the area in which a natural force is felt or has an effect:
the Earth’s magnetic field
7 . coal/oil/gas field a large area of land where coal, oil, or gas is found:
North Sea oil fields
8 . the field (of battle) the time or place where there is fighting in a war:
The new tank has yet to be tested in the field.
medals won on the field of battle
9 . field of vision/view the whole area that you are able to see without turning your head
10 . snow/ice field a large area of land covered with snow or ice
11 . field of fire the area that you can hit when you shoot from a particular position
12 . leave the field clear for somebody to make it possible for someone to do something or to be successful at something, by not competing with them:
Josh left the company, leaving the field clear for me.
13 . COMPUTERS in a computer document, an amount of space made available for a particular type of information:
an empty field (=not yet written in)
⇨ have a field day at ↑ field day , ⇨ play the field at ↑ play 1 (29)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + field
▪ a corn/wheat/rice etc field
In summer the rice fields were lush and green.
▪ an open field
I saw a fox run across the open field.
▪ a green field
All around the house were green fields and rolling hills.
▪ an arable field (=one used for growing crops)
Barley was growing in the arable fields surrounding the castle.
▪ a cultivated field (=one with crops growing on it)
The valley is an area of lush greenery and cultivated fields.
▪ a ploughed field
It was difficult walking across the ploughed field.
■ phrases
▪ a field of corn/wheat/rice etc
The road was surrounded by fields of corn.
■ verbs
▪ plough a field (=make long deep lines in the ground so that you can grow crops)
The farmer was using a tractor to plough the field.
▪ work in the fields (=do farm work)
Most villagers work in the fields during the day.
▪ cross a field
We crossed the field and came to the barn.
▪ walk across a field
I walked across the field to the gate.
▪ cows/horses etc graze in a field (=they eat the grass growing there)
Cattle were grazing in the field below.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ field noun [countable] an area of land in the country, especially one where crops are grown or animals feed on grass:
a wheat field
|
Cows were grazing in the field.
▪ meadow noun [countable] a field with wild grass and flowers:
alpine meadows
▪ paddock noun [countable] a small field in which horses are kept:
Horses are much happier in a big paddock with several other horses.
▪ pasture noun [uncountable and countable] land or a field that is covered with grass and is used for cattle, sheep etc to feed on:
large areas of rough upland pasture
|
cow pastures
II. field 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . if you field a team, an army etc, they represent you or fight for you in a competition, election, or war:
The Ecology Party fielded 109 candidates.
We fielded a team of highly talented basketball players.
2 . to answer questions, telephone calls etc, especially when there are a lot of them or the questions are difficult:
The Minister fielded questions on the Middle East.
The press office fielded numerous calls from the media.
3 . be fielding the team that is fielding in a game of ↑ cricket or baseball is the one that is throwing and catching the ball, rather than the one hitting it OPP be batting
4 . if you field the ball in a game of ↑ cricket or baseball, you stop it after it has been hit