noun
Etymology
Origin of battlefield
Explanation
A place where fighting happens, especially during a war, can be called a battlefield. If you visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, you'll see a famous Civil War battlefield. There are many Civil War battlefields in the southern United States, and New England is the site of several Revolutionary War battlefields. While the physical land where a battle is fought is the most common kind of battlefield, there are also figurative battlefields, like a classroom in which competing ideas are angrily hashed out. The equivalent word in Old English is wælstow, or "slaughter-place."
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.
"It's very useful in a military headquarters or when faced with tactical coordination questions on the battlefield," Mensch said.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
The race to adapt on the battlefield has been sharpened by a parallel public relations war.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
After Meta said it was developing battlefield technology for American soldiers, Bosworth joined the Army Reserve, a move he acknowledged riled some colleagues.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
In other remarks, he emphasized what he called “lethality over likability,” arguing that military leadership must prioritize combat readiness and battlefield effectiveness over cultural or institutional concerns.
From Salon • May 24, 2026
Allied forces continued their attacks, with little gain, until snowstorms and rain turned the Somme battlefield into a muddy morass.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
