a region where a battle is being (or has been) fought
"they made a tour of Civil War battlefields"
somewhere (away from a studio or office or library or laboratory) where practical work is done or data is collected
"anthropologists do much of their work in the field"
a branch of knowledge
"in what discipline is his doctorate?"
"teachers should be well trained in their subject"
"anthropology is the study of human beings"
the space around a radiating body within which its electromagnetic oscillations can exert force on another similar body not in contact with it
"The physicist adjusted the coil to strengthen the magnetic field so the distant sensor could detect the fluctuating forces."
a particular kind of commercial enterprise
"they are outstanding in their field"
a piece of land prepared for playing a game
"the home crowd cheered when Princeton took the field"
(mathematics) a set of elements such that addition and multiplication are commutative and associative and multiplication is distributive over addition and there are two elements 0 and 1
"the set of all rational numbers is a field"
a region in which active military operations are in progress
"the army was in the field awaiting action"
"he served in the Vietnam theater for three years"
all of the horses in a particular horse race
"The entire field crossed the finish line within seconds of each other, making it impossible to declare a clear winner until the officials reviewed the video."
all the competitors in a particular contest or sporting event
"The entire field of runners gathered at the starting line before the race began."
a geographic region (land or sea) under which something valuable is found
"the diamond fields of South Africa"
(computer science) a set of one or more adjacent characters comprising a unit of information
"The database program automatically splits each long address string into separate fields so that the street, city, and zip code can be sorted independently."
the area that is visible (as through an optical instrument)
"The astronomer adjusted the eyepiece to widen her field and spot the faint star she had been searching for."
a place where planes take off and land
"The pilot requested an emergency landing on the field due to sudden engine trouble."
A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; open country.
"The farmers gathered in the open field to watch the sunrise over the rolling hills."
In plain English: A field is a large open area of land used for farming, sports, or other activities.
"The farmer plowed the field to prepare for planting seeds."
Usage: Use "field" to describe a large, open expanse of land used for farming or recreation, such as a cornfield or a football field. Do not use it to refer to an abstract concept like a specific area of study unless you are explicitly discussing academic disciplines.
catch or pick up (balls) in baseball or cricket
"The shortstop ran to first base to field the ball before it bounced too close to the batter."
play as a fielder
"The coach yelled for him to stop running and get into position to field the fly ball before it dropped near the fence."
select (a team or individual player) for a game
"The Buckeyes fielded a young new quarterback for the Rose Bowl"
To intercept or catch (a ball) and play it.
"The shortstop fielded the bouncer cleanly to start a double play."
In plain English: To field something means to handle or deal with it directly, often by answering questions or taking care of a situation yourself.
"The storm fielded a massive wave that crashed against the shore."
Usage: Use "field" as a verb when describing a fielding position in baseball or softball where you catch a batted ball to end the play. Do not use it for general catching unless specifically referring to this sport context.
A surname.
"After hours of genealogy research, we finally discovered that our great-grandfather's middle name was actually Field."
The word "field" comes from the Old English feld, which originally meant an open expanse of flat land. It traveled into Middle English and eventually modern English with its core meaning largely unchanged.