Field vs. Ground: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Field typically refers to an open area of land, often used for agriculture or sports, whereas Ground is the solid surface of the earth.
Key Differences
A Field is often a defined open space, used for agriculture, sports, or as a subject of study, while Ground refers to the Earth's solid surface, supporting everything on it.
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Dec 13, 2023
In sports, a Field denotes the playing area, whereas Ground can refer to the stadium or sports complex including the field.
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Dec 13, 2023
Field, in a professional context, refers to a specific area of expertise or study, whereas Ground does not have such a connotation.
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Dec 13, 2023
The term Field can also imply a broader, more abstract area, like a field of vision, whereas Ground is always tangible and physical.
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Dec 13, 2023
In electromagnetic theory, a Field represents a region affected by a force, whereas Ground is used as a reference point in electrical circuits.
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Dec 13, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Physical Space
An open area of land, often used for specific purposes
The solid surface of the Earth
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Sports Connotation
The playing area in sports
The stadium or complex including the field
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Professional Meaning
An area of expertise or study
Lacks a professional connotation
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Scientific Usage
Used in various scientific contexts
Used as a reference point in electricity
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Field and Ground Definitions
Field
A particular branch of study or sphere of activity or interest.
She is an expert in the field of neurology.
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Ground
Lower surface of a room on which one may walk.
The museum's ground floor housed ancient artifacts.
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Field
An area used for outdoor sports.
The soccer game was held on the newly mowed field.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
A region where a particular condition prevails.
The magnetic field around the magnet was very strong.
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Ground
Often grounds An area of land designated for a particular purpose
A burial ground.
Parade grounds.
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Field
A cultivated expanse of land, especially one devoted to a particular crop
A field of corn.
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Ground
Often grounds The land surrounding or forming part of a house or another building
A guesthouse on the grounds of the mansion.
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Field
A portion of land or a geologic formation containing a specified natural resource
A copper field.
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Ground
An area or a position that is contested in or as if in battle
The soldiers held their ground against the enemy. Character witnesses helped the defendant stand her ground in the trial.
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Ground
Something that serves as a foundation or means of attachment for something else
A ground of white paint under the mural.
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Ground
Often grounds The foundation for an argument, belief, or action; a basis.
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Field
The scene or an area of military operations or maneuvers
Officers in the field.
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Ground
Often grounds The underlying condition prompting an action; a cause
Grounds for suspicion.
A ground for divorce.
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Field
A background area, as on a flag, painting, or coin
A blue insignia on a field of red.
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Ground
The surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground.
Look, I found a ten dollar bill on the ground!
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Field
(Heraldry) The background of a shield or one of the divisions of the background.
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Field
An area or setting of practical activity or application outside an office, school, factory, or laboratory
Biologists working in the field.
A product tested in the field.
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Ground
Soil, earth.
The worm crawls through the ground.
The fox escaped from the hounds by going to ground.
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Field
An area or region where business activities are conducted
Sales representatives in the field.
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Field
An area in which an athletic event takes place, especially the area inside or near to a running track, where field events are held.
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Field
In baseball, the positions on defense or the ability to play defense
She excels in the field.
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Ground
, (epistemic) justification, cause.
You will need to show good grounds for your action.
He could not come on grounds of health, or on health grounds.
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Field
In baseball, one of the three sections of the outfield
He can hit to any field.
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Field
A range, area, or subject of human activity, interest, or knowledge
Several fields of endeavor.
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Ground
(historical) The area on which a battle is fought, particularly as referring to the area occupied by one side or the other. Often, according to the eventualities, "to give ground" or "to gain ground".
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Field
The contestants or participants in a competition or athletic event, especially those other than the favorite or winner.
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Ground
Advantage given or gained in any contest; e.g. in football, chess, debate or academic discourse.
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Ground
The plain surface upon which the figures of an artistic composition are set.
Crimson flowers on a white ground
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Field
The people running in an election for a political office
The field has been reduced to three candidates.
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Field
(Mathematics) A set of elements having two operations, designated addition and multiplication, satisfying the conditions that multiplication is distributive over addition, that the set is a group under addition, and that the elements with the exception of the additive identity form a group under multiplication.
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Ground
(point lace) The net of small meshes upon which the embroidered pattern is applied.
Brussels ground
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Field
(Physics) A physical quantity in a region of space, such as gravitational force or fluid pressure, having a distinct value (scalar, vector, or tensor) at each point.
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Ground
(etching) A gummy substance spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle.
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Field
The usually circular area in which the image is rendered by the lens system of an optical instrument; field of view.
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Ground
One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which mouldings etc. are attached.
Grounds are usually put up first and the plastering floated flush with them.
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Field
An element of a database record in which one piece of information is stored.
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Ground
(countable) A soccer stadium.
Manchester United's ground is known as Old Trafford.
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Field
A space, as on an online form or request for information, that accepts the input of text
An address field.
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Ground
An electrical conductor connected to the earth, or a large conductor whose electrical potential is taken as zero (such as a steel chassis).
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Ground
The area of grass on which a match is played (a cricket field); the entire arena in which it is played; the part of the field behind a batsman's popping crease where he can not be run out (hence to make one's ground).
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Ground
(music) A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody.
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Field
Working, operating, or active in the field
Field representatives of a firm.
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Field
(Sports) To catch or pick up (a ball) and often make a throw to another player, especially in baseball.
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Ground
(transitive) To punish, especially a child or teenager, by forcing them to stay at home and/or give up certain privileges.
If you don't clean your room, I'll have no choice but to ground you.
Eric, you are grounded until further notice for lying to us about where you were last night!
My kids are currently grounded from television.
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Ground
(transitive) To forbid (an aircraft or pilot) to fly.
Because of the bad weather, all flights were grounded.
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Ground
To give a basic education in a particular subject; to instruct in elements or first principles.
Jim was grounded in maths.
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Ground
(baseball) To hit a ground ball. Compare fly (verb (regular)) and line (verb).
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Field
A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; an area of open country.
There are several species of wild flowers growing in this field.
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Ground
(intransitive) To run aground; to strike the bottom and remain fixed.
The ship grounded on the bar.
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Ground
To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.
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Field
A wide, open space that is used to grow crops or to hold farm animals, usually enclosed by a fence, hedge or other barrier.
There were some cows grazing in a field.
A crop circle was made in a corn field.
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Ground
(fine arts) To cover with a ground, as a copper plate for etching, or as paper or other materials with a uniform tint as a preparation for ornament.
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Field
(geology) A region containing a particular mineral.
An oil field; a gold field
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Ground
To improve or focus the mental or emotional state of.
I ground myself with meditation.
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Field
An airfield, airport or air base; especially, one with unpaved runways.
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Ground
Simple past tense and past participle of grind
I ground the coffee up nicely.
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Field
An area reserved for playing a game or race with one’s physical force.
Soccer field
Substitutes are only allowed onto the field after their boots are checked.
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Ground
The surface of the earth; the outer crust of the globe, or some indefinite portion of it.
There was not a man to till the ground.
The fire ran along upon the ground.
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Field
A place where competitive matches are carried out with figures, or playing area in a board game or a computer game.
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Ground
Any definite portion of the earth's surface; region; territory; country.
From . . . old Euphrates, to the brook that parts Egypt from Syrian ground.
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Field
A competitive situation, circumstances in which one faces conflicting moves of rivals.
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Ground
Land; estate; possession; field; esp. (pl.), the gardens, lawns, fields, etc., belonging to a homestead; as, the grounds of the estate are well kept.
Thy next design is on thy neighbor's grounds.
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Field
(metonymically) All of the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or all except the favourites in the betting.
This racehorse is the strongest in a weak field.
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Ground
The basis on which anything rests; foundation. Hence: The foundation of knowledge, belief, or conviction; a premise, reason, or datum; ultimate or first principle; cause of existence or occurrence; originating force or agency; as, the ground of my hope.
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Ground
That surface upon which the figures of a composition are set, and which relieves them by its plainness, being either of one tint or of tints but slightly contrasted with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a white ground.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
(physics) A physical phenomenon (such as force, potential or fluid velocity) that pervades a region; a mathematical model of such a phenomenon that associates each point and time with a scalar, vector or tensor quantity.
Magnetic field; gravitational field; scalar field
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
A gummy composition spread over the surface of a metal to be etched, to prevent the acid from eating except where an opening is made by the needle.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
One of the pieces of wood, flush with the plastering, to which moldings, etc., are attached; - usually in the plural.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
A physical or virtual location for the input of information in the form of symbols.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
A composition in which the bass, consisting of a few bars of independent notes, is continually repeated to a varying melody.
On that ground I'll build a holy descant.
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Ground
A conducting connection with the earth, whereby the earth is made part of an electrical circuit.
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Ground
Sediment at the bottom of liquors or liquids; dregs; lees; feces; as, coffee grounds.
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Field
To be the team catching and throwing the ball, as opposed to hitting it.
The blue team are fielding first, while the reds are batting.
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Ground
The pit of a theater.
There is no way for duty to prevail, and get ground of them, but by bidding higher.
These nine . . . began to give me ground.
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Field
To place a team, its players, etc. in a game.
The away team fielded two new players and the second-choice goalkeeper.
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Field
(transitive) To answer; to address.
She will field questions immediately after her presentation.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.
Being rooted and grounded in love.
So far from warranting any inference to the existence of a God, would, on the contrary, ground even an argument to his negation.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
(transitive) To execute research (in the field).
He fielded the marketing survey about the upcoming product.
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Ground
To connect with the ground so as to make the earth a part of an electrical circuit.
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Ground
To forbid (a pilot) to fly an airplane; - usually as a disciplinary measure, or for reasons of ill health sufficient to interfere with performance.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
To forbid (aircraft) to fly; - usually due to the unsafe condition of the aircraft or lack of conformity to safety regulations; as, the discovery of a crack in the wing of a Trijet caused the whole fleeet to be grounded for inspection.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture.
Fields which promise corn and wine.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
To temporarily restrict the activities of (a child), especially social activity outside the house; - usually for bad or unsatisfactory conduct; as, Johnny was grounded for fighting at school and can't go to the movies for two weeks.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.
In this glorious and well-foughten field.
What though the field be lost?
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
To run aground; to strike the bottom and remain fixed; as, the ship grounded on the bar.
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Field
An open space; an extent; an expanse.
Without covering, save yon field of stars.
Ask of yonder argent fields above.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
The solid part of the earth's surface;
The plane turned away from the sea and moved back over land
The earth shook for several minutes
He dropped the logs on the ground
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Field
The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).
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Ground
A rational motive for a belief or action;
The reason that war was declared
The grounds for their declaration
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Field
An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room.
Afforded a clear field for moral experiments.
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Ground
The loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface;
They dug into the earth outside the church
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Field
A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting.
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Ground
A relation that provides the foundation for something;
They were on a friendly footing
He worked on an interim basis
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Field
That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; - called also outfield.
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Ground
A position to be won or defended in battle (or as if in battle);
They gained ground step by step
They fought to regain the lost ground
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Ground
The part of a scene (or picture) that lies behind objects in the foreground;
He posed her against a background of rolling hills
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Ground
Material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use);
The land had never been plowed
Good agricultural soil
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Ground
A relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused
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Field
A piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed;
He planted a field of wheat
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Ground
A connection between an electrical device and the earth (which is a zero voltage)
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Field
A region where a battle is being (or has been) fought;
They made a tour of Civil War battlefields
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Ground
(art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a painting
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Field
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
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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
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Field
The space around a radiating body within which its electromagnetic oscillations can exert force on another similar body not in contact with it
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Ground
Confine or restrict to the ground;
After the accident, they grounded the plane and the pilot
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Field
A particular kind of commercial enterprise;
They are outstanding in their field
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Field
A particular environment or walk of life;
His social sphere is limited
It was a closed area of employment
He's out of my orbit
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Field
A piece of land prepared for playing a game;
The home crowd cheered when Princeton took the field
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Field
Extensive tract of level open land;
They emerged from the woods onto a vast open plain
He longed for the fields of his youth
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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
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
Throw to the ground in order to stop play and avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage
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Dec 05, 2023
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
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
A geographic region (land or sea) under which something valuable is found;
The diamond fields of South Africa
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Ground
Connect to a ground;
Ground the electrical connections for safety reasons
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Field
(computer science) a set of one or more adjacent characters comprising a unit of information
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Ground
Broken or pounded into small fragments; used of e.g. ore or stone;
Paved with crushed bluestone
Ground glass is used as an abrasive
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
A basis for belief, action, or argument.
The lawyer had solid ground for his case.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
The background in a painting or decoration.
The artist chose a dark ground for her landscape painting.
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Dec 05, 2023
Ground
An area of knowledge or subject of discussion.
The debate covered new ground in climate change policy.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
Answer adequately or successfully;
The lawyer fielded all questions from the press
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
Select (a team or individual player) for a game;
The Patriots fielded a young new quarterback for the Rose Bowl
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Field
An area of open land, especially used for farming or agriculture.
The farmer plowed the field early in the morning.
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Dec 05, 2023
Field
The place where a battle is or was fought.
They visited the historic battlefield to honor those who fought in the field.
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Dec 05, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
How does 'field' relate to academic disciplines?
In academics, a field is a specific area of study or expertise.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 13, 2023
Can field and ground be used interchangeably?
Not always, as they have different specific meanings in various contexts.
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Dec 13, 2023
What does 'breaking new ground' mean?
It means exploring or discussing new areas of a subject or field.
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Dec 13, 2023
How is the term field used in science?
In science, it often refers to an area influenced by certain forces, like magnetic fields.
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Dec 13, 2023
What is a field?
A field is an open area of land, often used for agriculture or sports.
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Dec 13, 2023
Is a football field the same as a football ground?
A football field refers to the playing area, while a football ground includes the entire stadium.
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Dec 13, 2023
Do all sports have fields?
Many, but not all; some sports like swimming don't use fields.
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Dec 13, 2023
Is the phrase 'common ground' literal or figurative?
It's usually figurative, meaning shared beliefs or interests.
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Dec 13, 2023
Can a field exist without ground?
In a physical sense, no; fields are generally part of the ground.
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Dec 13, 2023
Can a field be indoor?
Yes, in contexts like indoor sports arenas or fields of study.
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Dec 13, 2023
Is 'fieldwork' always outdoor?
Typically, but it can also refer to any practical work conducted outside of a theoretical or laboratory setting.
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Dec 13, 2023
Is ground always associated with the earth?
Primarily, but it can also refer to floors within buildings or other structures.
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Dec 13, 2023
What does 'grounded' mean in psychology?
It refers to feeling mentally and emotionally stable.
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Dec 13, 2023
What does 'ground' mean in electrical terms?
In electricity, ground is a reference point in an electrical circuit.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 13, 2023
Can ground be used in the context of painting?
Yes, it can refer to the background against which the main subjects are set.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 13, 2023
Can ground refer to soil?
Yes, especially in contexts like gardening or construction.
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Dec 13, 2023
Are there fields in urban areas?
Yes, though they are usually designated for specific uses like parks or sports.
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Dec 13, 2023
What does 'moral ground' refer to?
It refers to the basis or justification for moral beliefs or actions.
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Dec 13, 2023
What is a field in a database?
It's a single piece of data or a column in a database table.
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Dec 13, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
Hifza Nasir
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