►                 PRACTICAL WORK S& fife !. fj: 5 [C] (usually used as an

adjective      the fact of people doing prac­

tical work or study, rather than working in a library or laboratory       a field study/investigation

/ iBUt o .field research/methods 0 essential reading for those working in the fields — see also field trip, fieldwork

►                 IN SPORT \b ff 6 (BrE also pitch) [C] (usually in

compounds il j&l fifc S o' is]) an area of land used for playing a sport on          : a baseball/rugby/football,

etc. field      o a sports field

$$) o Today they take the field (= go on to the field to play a game) against county champions Essex. A AIM] —see also playing field 7 (in cricket and BASEBALL $t ffl # $c) [sing.+sing./pl. v.] the team that is trying to catch the ball rather than hit it tF(A 8 [sing.+sing./pl. v.] all the people or animals competing in a particular sports event ( tt f   : The field includes three world-

record holders.

►                 IN BUSINESS i§f ik 9 [sing.+sing./pl. v.] all the people or products competing in a particular area of business ff ik: They lead the field in home entertainment systems.

►                 PHYSICS t/Ji/y 10 [C] (usually in compounds

an area within which the force mentioned has an effect fib: the earth’s gravitational field o

an electro-magnetic field

►                 COMPUTING i|- ff         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.

03333 leave the field 'clear for sb | leave sb in possession of the field to enable sb to be successful in a particular area of activity because other people or groups have given up competing with them ffi •• ■ Eftj&fiJ play the ‘field (informal) to have sexual relationships with a lot of different people

m verb

►                 CANDIDATE/TEAM fi^A; PA 1 [VN] to provide a candi­

date, speaker, team, etc. to represent you in an elec­tion, a competition, etc.    k£#jjtl tkH: Each

of the main parties fielded more than 300 candidates. 'tzmmutfflmmtii 300          j£&A0 0 England fielded

a young side in the World Cup.          T-^^^Eft

►                 IN CRICKET/BASEBALL       #£$ 2 [V] to be the person

or the team that catches the ball and throws it back after sb has hit it  ( PAM ) ; ff    He won

the toss and chose to field first.          gJ N“3f A 7, jA

3 [VN] to catch the ball and throw it back \k, ££,          ( $t ) : He fielded the ball expertly.

FtkTOSftTo

►                 QUESTIONS ffi] M 4 [VN] to receive and deal with

questions or comments £fc,S, jSHrf ( IfJHIJE )■: The BBC had to field more than 300 phone calls after last night’s programme.        @ ff &UA

IS, fmiT 300^^o

field-craft /'fiildkraift; NAmE -kraeft/ noun [U] the activity of living or doing things outdoors, especially when this involves special skills or experience ( Ajtfj

»*Mt?ik

'field day noun {NAmE) = sports day ITH^I have a field day {NAmE, BrE) to be given the opportunity to do sth that you enjoy, especially sth that other people do not approve of          ( X

jeHffeAA$t|nrEft=Pf ) : The tabloid press had a field day with the latest government scandal.

field-er /'fi:lda(r)/ noun (BrE also fields-man) (in cricket and baseball $i$tfn#Ejc) a member of the team that is trying to catch the ball rather than hit it H

'field event noun [usually pi.] a sport done by athletes that is not a race, for example jumping or throwing the javelin ( $&£&$&&& ) —picture o page

R32 — compare track event

'field glasses noun [pi.] = binoculars

field goal noun 1 (in American football or rugby H $c) a goal scored by kicking the ball over the bar of the goal     2 (in

basketball M *£) a goal scored by throwing the ball through the net during normal play field hand noun (NAmE) = farmhand 'field hockey noun [u] {NAmE) = hockey(I)

'field hospital noun a temporary hospital near a

BATTLEFIELD if AfcEK

'field house noun {NAmE) 1 a building at a sports field where people can change their clothes, have a shower, etc. )'2 a building where

sports events are held, with seats for people to watch

(tmm)     ttwtt

field ing /'fiildirj/ noun [u] (in cricket and baseball ffi ^fnf#^c) the activity of catching and returning the ball

.field 'marshal noun {abbr. FM) an officer of the highest rank in the British army ( HI ) pft % jt Jlik : Field Marshal Montgomery

'field officer noun 1 a person in a company or other organization whose job involves practical work in a particular area or region ( £> 0] Eft )         A

M, ifaKX# AM 2 an officer of high rank in the army

(= a MAJOR, LIEUTENANT COLONEL Or COLONEL) P$ %

.field of 'fire noun {pi. fields of fire) the area that you can hit when shooting from a particular position .field of 'vision (also .field of 'view or technical Ain .visual 'field) noun {pi. fields of vision/view, visual fields) the total amount of space that you can see from a particular point without moving your head MSF fields-man /'fiildzman/ noun {pi. -men /-man/) {BrE)

= FIELDER

'field sports noun [pi.] (BrE) outdoor sports such as hunting, fishing and shooting if jg ifo ( #B JT fn ,

M )

'field-test verb [VN] to test sth, such as a piece of equip­ment, in the place where it will be used ( i&ilr^F )

► 'field test noun -. Laboratory and field tests have been conducted.

'field trip noun a journey made by a group of people, often students, to study sth in its natural environment (•. we went on a geology field trip. f£CI

field-work /‘fi:ldw3:k; NAmE -W3irk/ noun [U] research or study that is done in the real world rather than in a library or laboratory         ► field-worker

noun

fiend /fi:nd/ noun 1 a very cruel or unpleasant person SMIMA; «SWA;          A 2 {informal) {used

after another noun A 33         Is) a person who is

very interested in the thing mentioned ^g £F# HITI FANATIC: a crossword fiend 3 an evil spirit

fiend ish /'fiindij'/ adj. [usually before noun] 1 cruel and unpleasant HtW; l;       a fiendish

act     o shrieks of fiendish laughter M H jU£

2 {informal) extremely clever and complicated, often in an unpleasant way ( ^

: a puzzle of fiendish complexity         0 a

fiendish plan M & (ft it 3 {informal) extremely difficult ^|Fft: a fiendish problem A^IS fiend ish ly /’fimdijli/ adv. {informal) very; extremely jg; ^ M:: fiendishly clever/complicated Wl % 15   /

fierce /fias; NAmE firs/ adj. (fier-cer, fier cest) 1 (espe­cially of people or animals X fa A M #f) angry and aggressive in a way that is frightening 1ft ® Eft ; 1ft ® Eft; ft ^Eft: a fierce dog M$] 0 Two fierce eyes glared at them. -SJUft ® ift fig Hit f ffefM&i MM. 0 He suddenly looked fierce,  ft+lo 0 She spoke in

a fierce whisper.    2 (especially of

actions or emotions X fa $} fir 'If i£) showing strong feelings or a lot of activity, often in a way that is