take the field

Idioms and Phrases

Enter a competition, as in The country's best spellers took the field in the national spelling bee . This term originated around 1600 when it meant “to open a military campaign.” The field here is the field of battle. The term has been used figuratively almost as long, the first recorded use being in 1614.

Related Words

• attack
• battle
• challenge
• clash
• meet
• protect
• resist