left field
noun
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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:
“There are legitimate water quality threats that we need to attack and rectify in a regulatory manner. And then there are things that are out in the left field that just distract people,” Donley said.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
France’s long fly ball to left field, however, found the seats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
The clear winner, out of left field, was Brazilian jiu-jitsu: a relatively new art accepted so rapidly that we already knew the basics from our Army combatives course.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
He also patrolled left field and snared a line drive to end the top of the fourth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
He swung at the first pitch, missed, then swung again at the second pitch and sent the ball in a straight line over the head of the third baseman into left field.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
But it was a more left-field statement that caught Styles' attention.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
But just seven pitches into his start, Freddie Freeman sliced an opposite-field shot down the left-field line.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
The Italian, however, was originally unwilling to take the job mid-season, which led Spurs towards making the left-field appointment of Tudor – who left Spurs by mutual consent after just seven games.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Ramsey Suarez sliced a double down the left-field line as the ball landed less than a foot into fair territory.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
We’d dropped Monica Fassbinder off at her host family’s house, which happened to be across the street from the left-field fence at Burnt Mill Creek High School’s baseball diamond.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
