open field

American

noun

Football.

any area of the playing field away from the heavily trafficked line of scrimmage, in which the defense is widely scattered.

open-field British

adjective

(prenominal) medieval history of or denoting the system in which an arable area was divided into unenclosed strips, esp cultivated by different tenants

"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

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.

"I love it. It allows me to get more touches on the ball in open field, it suits my game," Rees-Zammit said about playing full-back in an interview with the BBC.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

The remaining 64% told pollsters they had “no one specific in mind,” reflecting an open field with plenty of room for other figures to gain ground.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025

Cousin Jake is a bit faster in the open field and a bit less interested in the mac ‘n’ cheese in the kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

It smells faintly of vanilla, honey and corn — like a memory of an open field just after a storm.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025

Daniel spreads his arms wide as he runs, like he might be a bird, a bird soaring in the sky, not a kid running across an open field.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

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