field day

American  

noun

1. a day devoted to outdoor sports or athletic contests, as at a school.

2. an outdoor gathering; outing; picnic.

3. a day for military exercises and display.

4. an occasion or opportunity for unrestricted activity, amusement, etc..

   The children had a field day with their new skateboards.

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field day British  

noun

1. a day spent in some special outdoor activity, such as nature study or sport

2. a day-long competition between amateur radio operators using battery or generator power, the aim being to make the most contacts with other operators around the world

3. military a day devoted to manoeuvres or exercises, esp before an audience

4. informal a day or time of exciting or successful activity

   the children had a field day with their new toys

5. 1. a day or series of days devoted to the demonstration of farm machinery in country centres

   2. a combined open day and sale on a stud property

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field day Idioms  

1. A time of great pleasure, activity, or opportunity, as in The press had a field day with this sensational murder trial. This colloquial expression, dating from the 1700s, originally referred to a day set aside for military maneuvers and exercises, and later was extended to a similar day for sports and games. Since the early 1800s it has been used more loosely.

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Etymology

Origin of field day

First recorded in 1740–50

Example Sentences

He’s called me Anfrew since second grade when Mrs. Long misspelled it on my name tag for field day.

From Literature

A field day for actors, it earned Emmys for Cooper, co-creator Stephen Graham as his father and Erin Doherty as a child psychologist.

From Los Angeles Times

Farmworkers had picked most of the watermelons in a field days earlier, but returned to harvest the remaining fruit once it was ripe.

From Los Angeles Times

The stage has been having a field day satirizing the way we transform when we communicate impersonally through our devices.

From Los Angeles Times

That was one of the reasons the group decided on a field day celebration: “Our stomachs have been hurting, our backs have been hurting, just all of the body ailments.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• anniversary
• commemoration
• competition
• fair
• feast
• gala
• holiday