afield

American  

[uh-feeld] / əˈfild /

adverb

1. abroad; away from home.

2. off the beaten path; far and wide.

   to go afield in one's reading.

3. off the mark.

   His criticism was totally afield.

4. in or to the field or countryside.

5. beyond the range or field of one's experience, knowledge, acquaintanceship, etc..

   a philosophy far afield of previous philosophical thought.

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afield British  

/ əˈfiːld /

adverb

1. away from one's usual surroundings or home (esp in the phrase far afield )

2. off the subject; away from the point (esp in the phrase far afield )

3. in or to the field, esp the battlefield

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Etymology

Origin of afield

before 1000; Middle English afelde, Old English on felda. See a- ¹, field

Explanation

Afield means at a far distance. When you go far afield, you travel a very long way. If your job takes you halfway around the world, you can say that you work far afield, and if you and your siblings live on different continents, your family is spread far afield. You'll almost always see the word "far" before afield, since it describes long distances. The word was originally a contraction of the Middle English in felde, from the Old English on felda, "in the field."

Related Words

• astray