an expanse of open or cleared ground, esp. a piece of land suitable or used for pasture or tillage.

Sports .

a piece of ground devoted to sports or contests; playing field.

(in betting) all the contestants or numbers that are grouped together as one

to bet on the field in a horse race.

(in football) the players on the playing ground.

the area in which field events are held.

Baseball .

the team in the field, as opposed to the one at bat.

the outfield.

a sphere of activity, interest, etc., esp. within a particular business or profession

the field of teaching; the field of Shakespearean scholarship.

the area or region drawn on or serviced by a business or profession; outlying areas where business activities or operations are carried on, as opposed to a home or branch office

our representatives in the field.

a job location remote from regular workshop facilities, offices, or the like.

Military .

the scene or area of active military operations.

a battleground.

a battle.

Informal . an area located away from the headquarters of a commander.

an expanse of anything

a field of ice.

any region characterized by a particular feature, resource, activity, etc.

a gold field.

the surface of a canvas, shield, etc., on which something is portrayed

a gold star on a field of blue.

(in a flag) the ground of each division.

Physics . the influence of some agent, as electricity or gravitation, considered as existing at all points in space and defined by the force it would exert on an object placed at any point in space. Compare electric field , gravitational field , magnetic field .

Also called field of view. Optics . the entire angular expanse visible through an optical instrument at a given time.

Electricity . the structure in a generator or motor that produces a magnetic field around a rotating armature.

Mathematics . a number system that has the same properties relative to the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as the number system of all real numbers; a commutative division ring.

Photography . the area of a subject that is taken in by a lens at a particular diaphragm opening.

Psychology . the total complex of interdependent factors within which a psychological event occurs and is perceived as occurring.

Computers .

one or more related characters treated as a unit and constituting part of a record, for purposes of input, processing, output, or storage by a computer

If the hours-worked field is blank or zero, the program does not write a check for that employee.

(in a punch card) any number of columns regularly used for recording the same information.

Television . one half of the scanning lines required to form a complete television frame. In the U.S., two fields are displayed in 1/30 second

all the odd-numbered lines in one field and all the even lines in the next field. Compare frame def. 9

Numismatics . the blank area of a coin, other than that of the exergue.

Fox Hunting . the group of participants in a hunt, exclusive of the master of foxhounds and his staff.

Heraldry . the whole area or background of an escutcheon.

Baseball, Cricket .

to catch or pick up (the ball) in play

The shortstop fielded the grounder and threw to first for the out.

to place (a player, group of players, or a team) in the field to play.

to place in competition

to field a candidate for governor.

to answer or reply skillfully

to field a difficult question.

to put into action or on duty

to field police cars to patrol an area.

Informal . field-test.

to act as a fielder; field the ball.

to take to the field.

Sports .

of, taking place, or competed for on the field and not on the track, as the discus throw or shot put.

of or pertaining to field events.

Military . of or pertaining to campaign and active combat service as distinguished from service in rear areas or at headquarters

a field soldier.

of or pertaining to a field.

grown or cultivated in a field.

working in the fields of a farm

field laborers.

working as a salesperson, engineer, representative, etc., in the field

an insurance company's field agents.

in the field

in actual use or in a situation simulating actual use or application; away from a laboratory, workshop, or the like

The machine was tested for six months in the field.

in contact with a prime source of basic data

The anthropologist is working in the field in Nigeria.

within a given profession

The public knows little of him, but in the field he's known as a fine mathematician.

keep the field

to remain in competition or in battle; continue to contend

The troops kept the field under heavy fire.

out in left field. left field ( def. 3 ) .

play the field

Informal .

to vary one's activities.

to date a number of persons rather than only one

He wanted to play the field for a few years before settling down.

take the field

to begin to play, as in football or baseball; go into action.

to go into battle

They took the field at dawn.

noun

acreage , cropland , enclosure , farmland , garden , glebe , grassland , green , ground , lea , mead , meadow , moorland , pasture , patch , plot , ranchland , range , terrain , territory , tillage , tract , vineyard , applicants , candidates , competition , competitors , contestants , entrants , entries , nominees , participants , possibilities , runners , area , avocation , bailiwick , bounds , calling , champaign , circle , compass , confines , cup of tea * , demesne , department , discipline , domain , dominion , environment , job , jurisdiction , limits , line , long suit * , margin , mtier , occupation , orbit , precinct , province , purview , racket , reach , region , scope , speciality , specialty , sweep , thing , vocation , walk , weakness , work , amphitheater , battlefield , circuit , course , court , diamond , fairground , golf course , gridiron , grounds , landing strip , lot , park , playground , playing area , racecourse , race track , rink , stadium , theater , track , turf , arena , realm , scene , subject , world , ambit , campaign , croft , milieu , preserve , room , rowen (stubble field) , savanna , sphere , study

verb

cover , deal with , deflect , handle , hold , occupy , patrol , pick up , play , retrieve , return , stop , turn aside , acre , area , background , battleground , catch , clearing , compass , course , department , discipline , domain , garden , grassland , gridiron , grounds , lea , mead , meadow , occupation , orbit , pasture , patch , playground , plot , profession , racket , range , realm , scope , specialty , sphere , stadium , terrain , track , tract , vineyard