释义 |
field I. \ˈfēld, chiefly before pause or consonant -ēəld\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English feld, fild, field, from Old English feld; akin to Old Frisian, Old Saxon, & Old High German feld field, Old English fold earth, Old Saxon folda, Old Norse fold; akin to Old English flōr floor — more at floor 1. a. (1) : a land area free of woodland, cities, and towns : open country (2) : the open country near or belonging to a city — usually used in plural b. (1) : an area of cleared enclosed land used for cultivation or pasture < a field of wheat > < a field of cattle > (2) : an area of land containing, yielding, or worked for a natural resource < a coalfield > < oil fields > < diamond fields > c. : the place where a battle is fought : battleground d. : a large unbroken expanse of sea ice 2. a. : an area, category, or division wherein a particular activity or pursuit is carried out < a lawyer eminent in his field > < a wide field of speculation > < the field of analytical chemistry > b. (1) : the sphere of practical operation of an organization or enterprise; specifically : the place or territory where direct contacts (as with customers) may be made or firsthand knowledge obtained < salesmen in the field > (2) : the scene of observation (as of actual phenomena) outside of a laboratory < geologists working in the field > c. : an area outside of a military post where exercises or maneuvers are carried out < new equipment being tested in the field > d. (1) : an athletic or sports area or space (as an outdoor enclosure for baseball, cricket, football) (2) : the portion enclosed by the racing track of an indoor or outdoor sports area on which are contested events of a track-and-field meet 3. : a space or ground on which something is drawn or projected: as a. : the space on either surface of a coin, token, or medal that does not contain the central figure of the design, the inscription, or the exergue b. : the ground of each division in a flag c. heraldry (1) : the whole surface of an escutcheon (2) : so much of an escutcheon as is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it d. : the area of a seal inside the inscription or other device about the circumference 4. : battle < an extremely costly field > 5. : the persons, participants, or elements that make up all or part of a sports activity: a. : all the participants with the exception usually of the favorite in an athletic contest or sporting event where more than two are entered; especially : the horses or dogs that are for purposes of pari-mutuel betting grouped together usually as the 12th betting unit when the number of entries exceeds 12 b. : all the players that are in action especially in football < ran through a broken field > c. : the side of a team not at bat d. : a fielder in cricket; collectively : the members of the fielding side e. : the group of numbers 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12 or 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12 on which a bet in craps pays even money 6. a. : a continuously distributed entity in space that accounts for actions at a distance < electric field > < gravitational field > b. : field intensity c. : a complex of coexistent forces (as biological, psychological, and social or interpersonal) which serve as causative agents or as a frame of reference in human experience and behavior 7. a. mathematics : a domain or aggregate of elements or magnitudes that when combined by addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, the divisor 0 being excluded, always produce an element of the aggregate b. : a region of embryonic tissue potentially capable of a particular type of differentiation < a neural field > < an ear field > c. : a region of space in which a given effect (as gravity, magnetism, or electricity) exists and has a definite value at each point 8. a. (1) : the usually circular area visible through the lens system of an optical instrument (as a microscope or telescope) (2) : the whole area of a television image b. : the site of a surgical operation c. : the total range of meanings associated with a set of words which are related but not identical in meaning (as mind, thought, intellect, spirit, intelligence, insight) — called also semantic field, word field d. : card field 9. a. : the field magnet of a generator — see dynamo illustration b. : a series of open-joint drain tiles that leads off septic-tank overflow to its absorption area Synonyms: domain, province, sphere, territory, bailiwick: field denotes a limited and demarcated area of knowledge or endeavor to which pursuits, activities, and interests are confined, often one determinedly chosen at a certain time or by the necessities of a situation < the provincial governments and the federal government in Ottawa share some fields of government business — Canadian Citizenship Series > < organizations functioning in the field of cartography — Americana Annual > < a writer whose reputation … has been pretty much confined to the whodunit field — James Kelly > domain may apply to a clearly defined area of activity marked by a degree of exclusive mastery and control discouraging outside interference or unwarranted intrusion < advances in the domain of the history of ideas — Benjamin Farrington > < the domain of artifact typology or cultural taxonomy — Philip Phillips & G.R.Willey > < great work in the domain of physiological chemistry of the cornea — Americana Annual > province indicates an area of special jurisdiction, responsibility, competence, power, or influence < economic theory is not the province of the lawyer or courts of law — C.A.Cooke > < the almost impertinently realistic explorations into behavior which are the province of the psychiatrist — Edward Sapir > < a decision that, in any case, was not within the province of the F.B.I. — New Statesman & Nation > sphere may more strongly imply circumscribed limits setting apart activities and interests < a long and profound process of social change … but this time in the economic sphere — John Strachey > < the congress and the president, acting in their proper spheres, must perform their duties to the American people in support of our highest traditions — D.D.Eisenhower > < composing, in which sphere he is a prolific worker — London Calling > territory is close to domain but lacks its suggestions of inviolability < prose has preempted a lion's share of the territory once held, either in sovereignty or on equal terms, by poetry — J.B.Lowes > bailiwick may suggest a petty area of individual power and authority < love the Romantics, and feel that lyric poetry and impassioned prose are their proper bailiwick — Katherine F. Gerould > < to achieve an authoritative position within your own little bailiwick — W.J.Reilly > II. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) transitive verb 1. : to expose (as grain, malt, or fiber) to the action of the air and sun in the field 2. : to handle (as a batted ball) while playing in the field 3. a. : to put (a team or designated players) into the field for actual play < field a weak team > b. : to put into the field < the greatest army any nation ever fielded > intransitive verb 1. obsolete : to take to the battlefield : engage in battle 2. : to play as a fielder III. adjective 1. : of or having to do with a field: as a. : growing in or inhabiting the fields or open country or cleared land b. : made, conducted, or used in the field < field operations > < field equipment > c. : operating or active in or assigned to the field < a field agent > < a field worker for a benevolent society > 2. : of, relating to, or contested on the field and not on the track — see field event IV. noun 1. : a band of horsemen following the leader of a hunt 2. : a particular area (as of a record in a database) in which the same type of information is regularly recorded 3. : a division of a record in computer storage that consists of one or more characters and contains data (as a name or number) to be treated as a unit V. transitive verb 1. : to take care of or respond to (as a telephone call or a request) < fielded two bomb threats — Alexander Wolff & Robert Sullivan > 2. : to give an impromptu answer or solution to < fielded the questions with ease > |