field hockey

American  

noun

1. a game played on a rectangular field having a netted goal at each end, in which two teams of 11 players each compete in driving a small leather-covered ball into the other's goal, each player being equipped with a stick having a curved end or blade that is flat on one side and rounded on the other.

---

field hockey British  

noun

1. hockey played on a field, as distinguished from ice hockey

---

Etymology

Origin of field hockey

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

He played at the field hockey World Cup for his native South Africa, but holds an Italian passport now through his ancestry.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

One of those is led by Waugh, who is heading up the Amsterdam Flames, which is backed by a consortium that includes former Australian field hockey player Jamie Dwyer and Australian businessman Tim Thomas.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

She could receive consideration for a spot on the U.S. field hockey team that would compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2024

Former field hockey player Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin performed a foxtrot to Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes, gaining 23 points.

From BBC • Sep. 21, 2024

There was also a smell: the same smell that would drift upriver, years later, to find me in my bed or in the field hockey goal.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides