afield
Americanadverb
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abroad; away from home.
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off the beaten path; far and wide.
to go afield in one's reading.
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off the mark.
His criticism was totally afield.
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in or to the field or countryside.
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beyond the range or field of one's experience, knowledge, acquaintanceship, etc..
a philosophy far afield of previous philosophical thought.
adverb
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away from one's usual surroundings or home (esp in the phrase far afield )
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off the subject; away from the point (esp in the phrase far afield )
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in or to the field, esp the battlefield
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."
Vocabulary lists containing afield
The Hunger Games
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The Odyssey
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the same time, buyers in Europe and Asia are bidding up prices for crude, fuel and liquefied natural gas from regions far afield of the conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Turkmen authorities are also hoping the expanded field at Galkynysh could help it look further afield.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
As you might imagine, Kalamazoo is a bit afield from typical book-tour routes, so when writers come through, readers take note.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
A replica of the Orca, the iconic shark-hunting boat from Jaws, is opening in north Wales, with the boatmaker saying tourists could travel from as far afield as America and Japan.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
Three of his young men were afield, pasturing herds in other woods; one he had sent with a fat boar for tribute into town, the boy to serve while the suitors got their fill.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
