field-test
Americanverb (used with object)
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has field-testedperfect 3rd person singular
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have field-testedperfect
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has been field-testingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am field-testingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been field-testingperfect progressive
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field-testingparticiple
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is field-testingprogressive 3rd person singular
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field-testssingular 3rd person
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are field-testingprogressive
Past
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had field-testedperfect
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field-testedparticiple
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was field-testingprogressive singular
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field-testedsimple
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were field-testingprogressive plural
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had been field-testingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of field-test
An Americanism dating back to 1915–20
Explanation
When scientists or researchers field-test something, they try it or test it in the environment in which it's intended to be used. Engineers, developers, and inventors all have reason to field-test products. For example, if a drug company is developing a new medicine, they might first test it in a laboratory and then field-test it, having actual patients try it. Educators might field-test a new curriculum, and military planners often field-test weapons or vehicles before outfitting entire armies with them. In field-test, the field is the "natural location or context."
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.
A real world field test conducted on Lanzarote in February 2023 showed that the approach works as planned.
From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026
Since my immediate family wasn’t adventurous with food, I used these gatherings to field test my more inventive ideas — a grazing table of small bites, all leading to the epic finale of dessert.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 27, 2022
This year researchers completed a massive field test of an AI program for detecting sepsis, one of the leading causes of death in hospitals.
From Scientific American • Dec. 15, 2022
But the looming assault represents humanity’s first-ever field test of a planetary defense mission: NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART.
From Science Magazine • Sep. 12, 2022
During the most recent field test, Werner managed to set up the transceivers, find the transmission, and plot Volkheimers location on the map in under five minutes.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
