• # Field

#### Pronunciation

• IPA: /fiːld/
• Rhymes: -iːld

#### Origin

From Middle English field, feeld, feld, from Old English feld ("field; open or cultivated land, plain; battlefield"), from Proto-Germanic *felþuz, *felþaz, *felþą ("field"), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ("field, plain"). Cognate with Scots feld, feild ("field"), North Frisian fjild ("field"), West Frisian fjild ("field"), Dutch veld ("field"), German Feld ("field"), Swedish fält ("field"). Related also to Old English folde ("earth, land, territory"), Old English folm ("palm of the hand"). More at fold.

## Full definition of field

#### field

(plural fields)
1. (land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; open country)A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; open country.
There are several species of wild flowers growing in this field.
2. (wide, open space used to grow crops or to hold farm animals)A wide, open space that is usually used to grow crops or to hold farm animals.
There were some cows grazing in a field.
A crop circle was made in a corn field.
• Lord Byron (1788-1824)fields which promise corn and wine
• 1927, F. E. Penny, Pulling the Strings Chapter 5, Anstruther laughed good-naturedly. “ I shall take out half a dozen intelligent maistries from our Press and get them to give our villagers instruction when they begin work and when they are in the fields.”
3. The open country near or belonging to a town or city—usually used in plural.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 8, I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.
4. (physics: region affected by a particular force)A physical phenomenon, such as force, potential, or fluid velocity, that pervades a region.
magnetic field;  gravitational field
5. (course of study or domain of knowledge or practice)A course of study or domain of knowledge or practice.
• 2013-05-10, Audrey Garric, Urban canopies let nature bloom, As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field.
6. He was an expert in the field of Chinese history.
7. An area that can be seen at a given time.
field of view
8. (place where a battle is fought)A place where a battle is fought; a battlefield.
9. (sports: area reserved for playing a game)An area reserved for playing a game.
soccer field
Substitutes are only allowed onto the field after their boots are checked.
10. A realm of practical, direct, or natural operation, contrasting with an office, classroom, or laboratory.
The design needs to be field-tested before we commit to manufacture.
Field work traditionally distinguishes true archaeologists from armchair archaeologists.
He needs some time in the field before his judgment can be trusted.
11. (in mathematics)(algebra) A commutative ring with identity for which every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse.
The set of rational numbers, $\mathbb\left\{Q\right\}$, is the prototypical field.
12. (geology: region containing a particular mineral)(geology) A region containing a particular mineral.
oil field;  gold field
13. (heraldry: background of the shield)(heraldry) The background of the shield.
14. (computing: area of memory or storage reserved for a particular value)(computing) An area of memory or storage reserved for a particular value.
15. A component of a database record in which a single unit of information is stored.
16. A physical or virtual location for the input of information in the form of characters.
The form has fields for each element of the customer's home address and ship-to address.
17. (baseball, obsolete) The team in a match that throws the ball and tries to catch it when it is hit by the other team (the bat).
18. (baseball) The outfield.
19. An unrestricted or favourable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement.
20. All of the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or all except the favourites in the betting.
This racehorse is the strongest in a weak field.

#### Usage notes

In the mathematical sense, some languages, such as French, use a term that literally means "body". This denotes a division ring or skew field, not necessarily commutative. If it is clear from context that the quaternions and similar division rings are irrelevant, or that all division rings being considered are finite and therefore fields, this difference is ignored.

#### Verb

1. (transitive, sports) To intercept or catch (a ball) and play it.
2. (baseball, softball, cricket, and other batting sports) To be the team catching and throwing the ball, as opposed to hitting it.The blue team are fielding first, while the reds are batting.
3. (transitive, sports) To place a team in (a game).
• 2012, August 23, Alasdair Lamont, Hearts 0-1 Liverpool, On balance, it was harsh on Hearts, who had given as good as they got against their more-fancied opponents, who, despite not being at full strength, fielded a multi-million pound team.
4. The away team fielded two new players and the second-choice goalkeeper.
5. (transitive) To answer; to address.She will field questions immediately after her presentation.
6. (transitive) To defeat.
They fielded a fearsome army.

#### Antonyms

• (be the team throwing and catching the ball) bat
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