field trip

American  

noun

field trips plural

1. a trip by students to gain firsthand knowledge away from the classroom, as to a museum, factory, geological area, or environment of certain plants and animals.

2. a trip by a scholar or researcher to gather data firsthand, as to a geological, archaeological, anthropological, or other site.

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field trip British  

noun

1. an expedition, as by a group of students or research workers, to study something at first hand

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• field trips
  plural

Etymology

Origin of field trip

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

For many, the Colonial Williamsburg experience begins and ends with a school field trip.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Democratic Party fundraiser Charles Myers is organizing a post-Maduro field trip to Venezuela with about 20 hedge funders and asset managers to scout investment opportunities in “oil and gas,” “construction,” and “tourism.”

From Slate • Jan. 5, 2026

That was in 1992, and we actually took the cadets on a field trip to Los Alamos where the first nuclear weapon had largely been developed.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025

Assistant prop master Laura Rin saw the show at the Pantages in the early ’90s when she was a on a high school field trip with her drama class.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2025

Hugh defends his former school, saying, "Well, isn't that the whole point of a field trip? To see something new?"

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris