Field

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Field, n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G. feld, Sw. fält, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.].

•  Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.  [1913 Webster]
•  A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture.  [1913 Webster]

  "Fields which promise corn and wine."  [1913 Webster]
•  A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.  [1913 Webster]

  "In this glorious and well-foughten field."  [1913 Webster]

  "What though the field be lost?"  [1913 Webster]
•  An open space; an extent; an expanse.  [1913 Webster]

  "Without covering, save yon field of stars."  [1913 Webster]

  "Ask of yonder argent fields above."  [1913 Webster]
•  The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).  [1913 Webster]
•  An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room.  [1913 Webster]

  "Afforded a clear field for moral experiments."  [1913 Webster]
•  A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting.  [1913 Webster]
•  That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also outfield.  [1913 Webster]

  " Field is often used adjectively in the sense of belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with reference to the operations and equipments of an army during a campaign away from permanent camps and fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes investigations or collections out of doors. A survey uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e., measurment, observations, etc., made in field work (outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick. Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc."  [1913 Webster]

Coal field (Geol.) See under Coal. -- Field artillery, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army. -- Field basil (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family (Calamintha Acinos); -- called also basil thyme. -- Field colors (Mil.), small flags for marking out the positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors. -- Field cricket (Zoöl.), a large European cricket (Gryllus campestric), remarkable for its loud notes. -- Field day. (a) A day in the fields. (b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for instruction in evolutions. Farrow. (c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day. -- Field driver, in New England, an officer charged with the driving of stray cattle to the pound. -- Field duck (Zoöl.), the little bustard (Otis tetrax), found in Southern Europe. -- Field glass. (Optics) (a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a race glass. (b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches long, and having 3 to 6 draws. (c) See Field lens. -- Field lark. (Zoöl.) (a) The skylark. (b) The tree pipit. -- Field lens (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called also field glass. -- Field madder (Bot.), a plant (Sherardia arvensis) used in dyeing. -- Field marshal (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred in the British and other European armies. -- Field officer (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain and below that of general. -- Field officer's court (U.S.Army), a court-martial consisting of one field officer empowered to try all cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison and regimental courts. Farrow. -- Field plover (Zoöl.), the black-bellied plover (Charadrius squatarola); also sometimes applied to the Bartramian sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda). -- Field spaniel (Zoöl.), a small spaniel used in hunting small game. -- Field sparrow. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American sparrow (Spizella pusilla). (b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.] -- Field staff (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to hold a lighted match for discharging a gun. -- Field vole (Zoöl.), the European meadow mouse. -- Field of ice, a large body of floating ice; a pack. -- Field, or Field of view, in a telescope or microscope, the entire space within which objects are seen. -- Field magnet. see under Magnet. -- Magnetic field. See Magnetic. -- To back the field, or To bet on the field. See under Back, v. t. -- To keep the field. (a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign. (b) To maintain one's ground against all comers. -- To lay against the field or To back against the field, to bet on (a horse, etc.) against all comers. -- To take the field (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign.

Field, v. i. 

•  To take the field.  Spenser.  [1913 Webster]
•  To stand out in the field, ready to catch, stop, or throw the ball.  [1913 Webster]

Field, v. t. 

 To catch, stop, throw, etc. (the ball), as a fielder.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Field, n. & v.
--n.
1 an area of open land, esp. one used for pasture or crops, often bounded by hedges, fences, etc.
2 an area rich in some natural product (gas field; diamond field).
3 a piece of land for a specified purpose, esp. an area marked out for games (football field).
4 a the participants in a contest or sport. b all the competitors in a race or all except those specified.
5 Cricket a the side fielding. b a fielder.
6 an expanse of ice, snow, sea, sky, etc.
7 a the ground on which a battle is fought; a battlefield (left his rival in possession of the field). b the scene of a campaign. c (attrib.) (of artillery etc.) light and mobile for use on campaign. d a battle.
8 an area of operation or activity; a subject of study (each supreme in his own field).
9 a the region in which a force is effective (gravitational field; magnetic field). b the force exerted in such an area.
10 a range of perception (field of view; wide field of vision; filled the field of the telescope).
11 Math. a system subject to two operations analogous to those for the multiplication and addition of real numbers.
12 (attrib.) a (of an animal or plant) found in the countryside, wild (field mouse). b carried out or working in the natural environment, not in a laboratory etc. (field test).
13 a the background of a picture, coin, flag, etc. b Heraldry the surface of an escutcheon or of one of its divisions.
14 Computing a part of a record, representing an item of data.
--v.
1 Cricket, Baseball , etc. a intr. act as a fieldsman. b tr. stop (and return) (the ball).
2 tr. select (a team or individual) to play in a game.
3 tr. deal with (a succession of questions etc.).

Idiom

field-book a book used in the field by a surveyor for technical notes. field-cornet S.Afr. hist. a minor magistrate. field-day
1 wide scope for action or success; a time occupied with exciting events (when crowds form, pickpockets have a field-day).
2 Mil. an exercise, esp. in manoeuvring; a review.
3 a day spent in exploration, scientific investigation, etc., in the natural environment. field events athletic sports other than races (e.g. shot-putting, jumping, discus-throwing). field-glasses binoculars for outdoor use. field goal US Football & Basketball a goal scored when the ball is in normal play. field hockey US = HOCKEY(1). field hospital a temporary hospital near a battlefield. Field Marshal Brit. an army officer of the highest rank. field mouse a small rodent, Apodemus sylvaticus, with beady eyes, prominent ears, and a long tail. field mushroom the edible fungus Agaricus campestris. field mustard charlock. field officer an army officer of field rank. field of honour the place where a duel or battle is fought. field rank any rank in the army above captain and below general. field sports outdoor sports, esp. hunting, shooting, and fishing. field telegraph a movable telegraph for use on campaign. hold the field not be superseded.
in the field
1 campaigning.
2 working etc. away from one's laboratory, headquarters, etc. keep the field continue a campaign. play the field colloq. avoid exclusive attachment to one person or activity etc. take the field 1 begin a campaign.
2 (of a sports team) go on to a pitch to begin a game.

Etymology

OE feld f. WG

THESAURUS

Field

DMZ, academic discipline, academic specialty, aceldama, achievement, acreage, aerodrome, agora, air base, airdrome, airfield, airport, alerion, ambit, amphitheater, ample scope, animal charge, annulet, answer, applicants, applied science, arable, archery ground, area, arena, argent, armorial bearings, armory, arms, art, athletic field, auditorium, azure, back, backdrop, background, badminton court, bag, bailiwick, bandeau, bar, bar sinister, baseball field, basketball court, baton, battle line, battle site, battlefield, battleground, bear garden, bearings, beat, bend, bend sinister, billet, billiard parlor, blank check, blazon, blazonry, block, border, borderland, bordure, bounds, bowl, bowling alley, bowling green, boxing ring, breadth, broad arrow, bull ring, cadency mark, campus, candidates, canton, canvas, carte blanche, catch, champaign, chaplet, charge, chevron, chief, cincture, circle, circuit, circus, classical education, clearance, clearing, clos, close, coat of arms, cockatrice, cockpit, coliseum, colosseum, combat area, combat zone, common, compass, competition, competitor, competitors, concern, confine, confines, container, contender, contestant, continuum, coop, cope with, core curriculum, corn field, coronet, corrival, course, course of study, court, courtyard, crescent, crest, cricket ground, croft, croquet ground, croquet lawn, cross, cross moline, crown, cultivated land, cup of tea, curriculum, curtilage, deal with, delimited field, demesne, department, department of knowledge, device, diamond, difference, differencing, dimension, discipline, distance, division, domain, dominion, eagle, elbowroom, elective, emptiness, empty space, emulator, enclave, enclosure, enemy line, entrant, ermine, ermines, erminites, erminois, escutcheon, expanse, expansion, expertise, extension, extent, fairway, falcon, fess, fess point, field of battle, field of blood, field of inquiry, field of study, file, firing line, flanch, fleur-de-lis, floor, fold, football field, forte, forty, forum, free course, free hand, free play, free scope, fret, front line, full scope, full swing, fur, fusil, galactic space, garland, general education, general studies, glaciarium, golf course, golf links, grassland, green, greensward, gridiron, griffin, ground, gules, gym, gymnasium, gyron, hall, handle, hatchment, hayfield, heliport, helmet, hemisphere, heraldic device, hinterland, humanities, ice rink, impalement, impaling, inescutcheon, infield, infinite space, interest, interstellar space, island, judicial circuit, jurisdiction, killing ground, kraal, label, land, landing, landing beach, landing field, latitude, lawn, lea, leeway, liberal arts, limits, line, line of battle, links, lion, list, lists, locale, long rope, long suit, lot, lozenge, main interest, major, maneuvering space, manipulate, manner, mantling, march, margin, marketplace, marshaling, martlet, mascle, mat, mead, meadow, measure, metal, metier, milieu, minor, mise-en-scene, motto, mullet, natural science, no holds barred, nombril point, nothingness, octofoil, ology, open forum, open space, or, orb, orbit, ordinary, orle, outer space, outfield, oval, paddy, palaestra, pale, paling, paly, parade ground, parcel of land, park, pasture, patch, pean, pen, pet subject, pheon, pick up, piece of land, pit, place, plat, platform, play, player, playground, playing field, playroom, plot, plot of ground, polo ground, pool hall, poolroom, port, possibilities, precinct, prize ring, proportion, proseminar, province, public square, pure science, purlieu, purpure, pursuit, purview, putting green, quad, quadrangle, quadrivium, quarter, quartering, racecourse, racket court, range, reach, real estate, realm, rear, refresher course, region, reply to, respond to, retrieve, return, rice paddy, ring, rink, rival, room, rope, rose, round, sable, saltire, scene, scene of action, scenery, science, scientific education, scope, scutcheon, sea room, seat of war, section, seminar, setting, shambles, shield, site, skating rink, soccer field, social science, space, spatial extension, specialism, speciality, specialization, specialty, sphere, spread, spread eagle, square, squared circle, squash court, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, stop, strength, stretch, strong point, study, style, subdiscipline, subject, subordinary, superficial extension, surface, sward, sweep, swing, technical education, technicality, technicology, technics, technology, tenne, tennis court, terrain, territory, the field, the front, theater, theater of operations, theater of war, thing, tilting ground, tiltyard, tincture, toft, tolerance, torse, track, tract, tressure, trivium, turf, type, unicorn, vair, vert, vier, vocation, void, walk, way, weakness, wheat field, wide berth, wreath, wrestling ring, yale, yard, zone of communications

ROGET THESAURUS

Field

Business

N business, occupation, employment, pursuit, what one is doing, what one is about, affair, concern, matter, case, matter in hand, irons in the fire, thing to do, agendum, task, work, job, chore, errand, commission, mission, charge, care, duty, part, role, cue, province, function, lookout, department, capacity, sphere, orb, field, line, walk, walk of life, beat, round, routine, race, career, office, place, post, chargeship, incumbency, living, situation, berth, employ, service, engagement, undertaking, vocation, calling, profession, cloth, faculty, industry, art, industrial arts, craft, mystery, handicraft, trade, exercise, work, avocation, press of business, businesslike, workaday, professional, official, functional, busy, on hand, in hand, in one's hands, afoot, on foot, on the anvil, going on, acting, in the course of business, all in one's day's work, professionally Adj, a business with an income at its heels, amoto quaeramus seria ludo, par negotiis neque supra.

Arena

N arena, field, platform, scene of action, theater, walk, course, hustings, stare, boards, amphitheater, Coliseum, Colosseum, Flavian amphitheater, hippodrome, circus, race course, corso, turf, cockpit, bear garden, playground, gymnasium, palestra, ring, lists, tiltyard, tilting ground, Campus Martins, Champ de Allars, campus, boxing ring, canvas, theater of war, seat of war, battle-field, battle-ground, field of battle, field of slaughter, Aceldama, camp, the enemy's camp, trusting place.

Space

N space, extension, extent, superficial extent, expanse, stretch, hyperspace, room, scope, range, field, way, expansion, compass, sweep, swing, spread, dimension, length, distance, size, volume, hypervolume, latitude, play, leeway, purchase, tolerance, room for maneuver, spare room, elbow room, house room, stowage, roomage, margin, opening, sphere, arena, open space, free space, void, waste, wildness, wilderness, moor, moorland, campagna, abyss, unlimited space, infinity, world, ubiquity, length and breadth of the land, proportions, acreage, acres, acres and perches, roods and perches, hectares, square miles, square inches, square yards, square centimeters, square meters, yards (clothing), ares, arpents, spacious, roomy, extensive, expansive, capacious, ample, widespread, vast, world-wide, uncircumscribed, boundless, shoreless, trackless, pathless, extended, extensively, wherever, everywhere, far and near, far and wide, right and left, all over, all the world over, throughout the world, throughout the length and breadth of the land, under the sun, in every quarter, in all quarters, in all lands, here there and everywhere, from pole to pole, from China to Peru, from Indus to the pole, from Dan to Beersheba, from end to end, on the face of the earth, in the wide world, from all points of the compass, to the four winds, to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Region

N region, sphere, ground, soil, area, field, realm, hemisphere, quarter, district, beat, orb, circuit, circle, reservation, pale, compartment, department, clearing, (property) &c 780 (Government), 1 arena, precincts, enceinte, walk, march, patch, plot, parcel, inclosure, close, field, court, enclave, reserve, preserve, street, clime, climate, zone, meridian, latitude, biosphere, lithosphere, territorial, local, parochial, provincial, regional, region, sphere, ground, soil, area, field, realm, hemisphere, quarter, district, beat, orb, circuit, circle, reservation, pale, compartment, department, clearing, (property) &c 780 (Government), 1 arena, precincts, enceinte, walk, march, patch, plot, parcel, inclosure, close, field, court, enclave, reserve, preserve, street, clime, climate, zone, meridian, latitude, biosphere, lithosphere, territorial, local, parochial, provincial, regional.

Plain

N plain, table-land, face of the country, open country, champaign country, basin, downs, waste, weary waste, desert, wild, steppe, pampas, savanna, prairie, heath, common, wold, veldt, moor, moorland, bush, plateau, campagna, alkali flat, llano, mesa, mesilla, playa, shaking prairie, trembling prairie, vega, meadow, mead, haugh, pasturage, park, field, lawn, green, plat, plot, grassplat, greensward, sward, turf, sod, heather, lea, ley, lay, grounds, maidan, agostadero, champaign, alluvial, campestral, campestrial, campestrian, campestrine.

Agriculture

N agriculture, cultivation, husbandry, farming, georgics, geoponics, tillage, agronomy, gardening, spade husbandry, vintage, horticulture, arboriculture, floriculture, landscape gardening, viticulture, husbandman, horticulturist, gardener, florist, agricultor, agriculturist, yeoman, farmer, cultivator, tiller of the soil, woodcutter, backwoodsman, granger, habitat, vigneron, viticulturist, Triptolemus, field, meadow, garden, botanic garden, winter garden, ornamental garden, flower garden, kitchen garden, market garden, hop garden, nursery, green house, hot house, conservatory, bed, border, seed plot, grassplot, grassplat, lawn, park, parterre, shrubbery, plantation, avenue, arboretum, pinery, pinetum, orchard, vineyard, vinery, orangery, farm, agricultural, agrarian, agrestic, arable, predial, rural, rustic, country, horticultural.