field work

British

noun

an investigation or search for material, data, etc, made in the field as opposed to the classroom, laboratory, or official headquarters

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

field worker noun

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.

UN staff have been largely unable to carry out field work and UN agencies are having difficulty retrieving aid shipments from Havana's airports.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Without saying their exact roles, and with arms crossed, one says the course is considered a fast-track stepping stone for a promotion from the office to field work.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

I’m a cultural anthropologist, and what we do is field work.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2025

In an October hearing, Diane Rafferty of the auditing firm Alvarez & Marsal, told the court that preliminary field work uncovered “inconsistencies in services offered due to a lack of clear standards.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2024

An hour went by, and then it was time for field work and they put the bokken away.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023