outfield

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *úd

Proto-Germanic *ūt

Proto-Germanic *ūt-

Old English ūt-

Middle English ut-

English out-

English field

English outfield

From out- + field.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈaʊtfild/

• Audio (Australian):

  (file)

Noun

outfield (plural outfields)

1. (baseball, softball) The region of the field between the infield and the outer fence.

   He hit a long fly ball to the outfield in the gap to left.

   • 2024 December 2, “Topgolf To Open One of Its Largest Venues Yet in Burlingame On Dec. 13”, in Topgolf‎^[1], archived from the original on 9 August 2025:

     Topgolf's newest game, Sonic the Hedgehog™, brings the fun for everyone! Players aim at giant outfield targets to hit springs, collect rings and take down badniks in iconic virtual Sonic environments, designed with all skill levels in mind.

2. (cricket) The region of the field roughly outside of the infield or the wicket-keeper, slips, gully, point, cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket and square leg.
3. The area outside a racetrack or running track.
4. (Scotland, agriculture) Arable land continually cropped without being manured.
5. (Scotland, agriculture) Any open field at a distance from the farmsteading.

Synonyms

• (area of a baseball field): backfield (rare)

Antonyms

• infield

Derived terms

• outfielder
• outfield player
• outfieldsman

Translations

baseball

• Catalan: camp exterior (ca) m
• Finnish: takakenttä (fi)
• Māori: takiraha
• Spanish: jardín (es) m, outfield m (Americas)

cricket

• Finnish: takakenttä (fi)
• Māori: takiraha
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

open field at distance

• Swedish: utmark

Verb

outfield (third-person singular simple present outfields, present participle outfielding, simple past and past participle outfielded)

1. (baseball, cricket) To perform better in defense (fielding).
   • 2005, William A. Cook, The Louisville Grays Scandal of 1877: The Taint of Gambling at the Dawn of the National League‎^[2], McFarland, →ISBN, page 118:

     A special dispatch sent to The Cincinnati Enquirer on the game stated that the Buckeyes outfielded and outplayed the Grays at every point, and that had the Bucks run for first base instead of watching the ball after they hit it, they would have increased the score.

Anagrams

• filed out