take the field

Idioms  

1. Enter a competition, as in The country's best spellers took the field in the national spelling bee. This term originated around 1600 when it meant “to open a military campaign.” The field here is the field of battle. The term has been used figuratively almost as long, the first recorded use being in 1614.

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Example Sentences

On Super Bowl Sunday, hours before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots take the field, Tirico will be up at 4:30 on the West Coast to watch Lindsey Vonn in the women’s downhill.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

The next time the Proteas take the field in whites on home soil will be October 2026, 21 months after hosting Pakistan in January this year.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025

Players who once languished at the end of the bench for Georgia or Ohio State now leap to programs where they can actually take the field.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

In order to get back into the series, England must end a 17-Test winless run in Australia when they take the field at the Adelaide Oval.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025

But it would take at least a year of recruitment, training, and transportation across the Atlantic before the Americans were ready to take the field in Europe.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• attack
• battle
• challenge
• clash
• meet
• protect
• resist