left field
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left field
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left-field
left-fieldadjectiveregarded as being outside the mainstream; unconventional
left field
Americannoun
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Baseball.
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the area of the outfield to the left of center field, as viewed from home plate.
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the position of the player covering this area.
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Slang. a position or circumstance that is remote from an ordinary or general trend.
idioms
left-field
British
adjective
left field
More Idioms
Etymology
Origin of left field
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
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.
See Examples For:
Remember how the ball strikes the left field pole—bonnngggggg—and Boston survives with a win?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
In the next city, Cincinnati, Roberts spent an afternoon in left field with him while he was shagging fly balls during batting practice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Still, “The Movie” arrives seemingly out of left field, as sort of a happy surprise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
The warning is not coming out of left field.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
It’s not like it’s totally out of left field.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
That much became painfully evident when replays revealed what had actually happened: The ball never cleared the left-field fence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
This is not a left-field forecast: S&P Global predicts a 24% supply gap by 2040 also.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Three innings later, he sent another ball soaring into the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field, making Báez just the eighth player since 1900 to hit multiple home runs in his debut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
With two outs in the fifth, he lifted a sweeper into the seats beyond the left-field corner to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
But Turner saw that the pines sidled awful close to the left-field line, and he could spin a ball to make it touch in fair, then scoot off into the trees.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
