fieldwork

American  

[feeld-wurk] / ˈfildˌwɜrk /

noun

1. Also field work work done in the field, as research, exploration, surveying, or interviewing.

   archaeological fieldwork.

2. Fortification. a temporary fortification constructed in the field.

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fieldwork British  

/ ˈfiːldˌwɜːk /

noun

1. military a temporary structure used in defending or fortifying a place or position

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Other Word Forms

• field-worker noun
• fieldworker noun

Etymology

Origin of fieldwork

First recorded in 1735–45; field + work

Example Sentences

The footage was gathered during fieldwork in the Azores and Balearic islands between 2020 and 2022, offering a rare look at how these animals behave near the ocean surface.

From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2026

In 2054 Oxford historians do fieldwork by time-traveling to the past.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

"Getting all the fieldwork done traditionally has been very hard to do because you have to get energy to remote regions," he told the BBC.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

For decades, scientists studying human evolution have relied on fossil evidence and anthropological fieldwork to draw conclusions about mating behavior.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2026

It turned out later that Dennis Doyle, a man I knew in Nairobi, had sent the man from St. Lawrence University to see me while he was in Kenya doing fieldwork with his students.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola