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Webster 1913 Edition

Field

Field

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fielded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fielding
.]
1.
To take the field.
[Obs.]
Spenser.
2.
(Ball Playing)
To stand out in the field, ready to catch, stop, or throw the ball.

Field

,
Verb.
T.
(Ball Playing)
To catch, stop, throw, etc. (the ball), as a fielder.

Webster 1828 Edition

Field

FIELD

, n.
1.
A piece of land inclosed for tillage or pasture; any part of a farm, except the garden and appurtenances of the mansion; properly land not covered with wood, and more strictly applicable to tillage land than to mowing land, which is often called meadow. But we say, the master of the house is in the field with his laborers, when he is at a distance from his house on his farm. He is in the field, plowing, sowing, reaping or making hay.
2.
Ground not inclosed.
3.
The ground where a battle is fought.
We say, the field of battle; these veterans are excellent soldiers in the field.
4.
A battle; action in the field.
What though the field be lost.
5.
To keep the field, is to keep the campaign open; to live in tents, or to be in a state of active operations. At the approach of cold weather, the troops, unable to keep the field, were ordered into winter quarters.
6.
A wide expanse.
Ask of yonder argent fields above.
7.
Open space for action or operation; compass; extent. This subject opens a wide field for contemplation.
8.
A piece or tract of land.
The field I give thee and the cave that is therein.
Gen. 23.
9.
The ground or blank space on which figures are drawn; as the field or ground of a picture.
10.
In heraldry, the whole surface of the shield, or the continent.
11.
In scripture, field often signifies the open country, ground not inclosed, as it may in some countries in modern times.
12.
A field of ice, a large body of floating ice.

Definition 2024

Field

Field

See also: field

English

Proper noun

Field

  1. A surname​.

field

field

See also: Field

English

Noun

field ‎(plural fields)

  1. A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; open country.
    There are several species of wild flowers growing in this field.‎
  2. 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, chapter 5, in Pulling the Strings:
      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, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:
      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. A physical phenomenon, such as force, potential, or fluid velocity, that pervades a region.
    magnetic field;  gravitational field‎
  5. An airfield, airport or air base; especially, one with unpaved runways.
  6. A course of study or domain of knowledge or practice.
    • 2013 May 10, Audrey Garric, “Urban canopies let nature bloom”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 22, page 30:
      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.
    He was an expert in the field of Chinese history.‎
  7. The extent of a given perception.
    field of view‎
  8. A place where a battle is fought; a battlefield.
  9. 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. (algebra) A commutative ring with identity for which every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse.
    The set of rational numbers, , is the prototypical field.‎
  12. (geology) A region containing a particular mineral.
    oil field;  gold field‎
  13. (heraldry) The background of the shield.
  14. (vexillology) The background of the flag.
  15. (computing) An area of memory or storage reserved for a particular value.
  16. A component of a database record in which a single unit of information is stored.
  17. 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.‎
  18. (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).
  19. (baseball) The outfield.
  20. An unrestricted or favourable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement.
  21. 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.‎

Synonyms

  • (course of study or domain of knowledge): area, domain, sphere, realm
  • (area reserved for playing a game): course (for golf), court (for racquet sports), ground, pitch (for soccer, rugby, cricket)
  • (location for the input of information): input field, box

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

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

field ‎(third-person singular simple present fields, present participle fielding, simple past and past participle fielded)

  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”, in BBC Sport:
      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.
    The away team fielded two new players and the second-choice goalkeeper.
  4. (transitive) To answer; to address.
    She will field questions immediately after her presentation.
  5. (transitive) To defeat.
    They fielded a fearsome army.‎
  6. (transitive) To execute research (in the field).
    He fielded the marketing survey about the upcoming product.‎
  7. (transitive, military) To deploy in the field.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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

Translations

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: India · produce · drawn · #827: field · street · attempt · soft

Anagrams

References

  • - Etymology of "field"

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fiːld/
  • Rhymes: -iːld

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