field

Universal Words 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) seealsoAIRFIELD, 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 in the mountains * gas fields seealsoCOALFIELD, GOLDFIELD, OILFIELD, SNOWFIELD subject / activity 4 [C] a particular subject or activity that sb works in or is interested in: famous in the field of politics / science / music * I enjoy meeting people in other fields of business. * All of them are experts in their chosen field. * This discovery has opened up a whole new field of research. * 'How big was the bomb, if it did all that damage?' 'I don't know. Not my field' (= that is not one of the subjects I know about). practical work 5 [C] (usually used as an adjective) the fact of people doing practical work or study, rather than working in a classroom or LABORATORY: a field study / investigation * field research / methods * We then tested the questionnaire in field conditions. * essential reading for those working in the field seealsoFIELDTRIP, 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 field * a sports field * Today they take the field (= go on to the field to play a game) against county champions Essex. * Players are only reselected if they retain their form on the field (= when they are playing a match). * For Liverpool fans, it was a night to remember both on and off the field (= the match was good and so were the celebrations afterwards). seealsoPLAYINGFIELD 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