the activity of putting or setting in order in advance of some act or purpose; "preparations for the ceremony had begun"
(music) a note that produces a dissonant chord is first heard in a consonant chord; "the resolution of one dissonance is often the preparation for another dissonance"
a particular kind of commercial enterprise; "they are outstanding in their field"
the area that is visible (as through an optical instrument)
all the competitors in a particular contest or sporting event
all of the horses in a particular horse race
(mathematics) a set of elements such that addition and multiplication are commutative and associative and multiplication is distributive over addition and there are two elements 0 and 1; "the set of all rational numbers is a field"
(computer science) a set of one or more adjacent characters comprising a unit of information
a region in which active military operations are in progress; "the army was in the field awaiting action"; "he served in the Vietnam theater for three years"
somewhere (away from a studio or office or library or laboratory) where practical work is done or data is collected; "anthropologists do much of their work in the field"
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed; "he planted a field of wheat"
a geographic region (land or sea) under which something valuable is found; "the diamond fields of South Africa"
the space around a radiating body within which its electromagnetic oscillations can exert force on another similar body not in contact with it
select (a team or individual player) for a game; "The Buckeyes fielded a young new quarterback for the Rose Bowl"
answer adequately or successfully; "The lawyer fielded all questions from the press"
the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society"; "he regards the fork as a modern introduction"
a formal entry into an organization or position or office; "his initiation into the club"; "he was ordered to report for induction into the army"; "he gave a speech as part of his installation into the hall of fame"
a room used for reading and writing and studying; "he knocked lightly on the closed door of the study"
a state of deep mental absorption; "she is in a deep study"
applying the mind to learning and understanding a subject (especially by reading); "mastering a second language requires a lot of work"; "no schools offer graduate study in interior design"
a composition intended to develop one aspect of the performer's technique; "a study in spiccato bowing"
someone who memorizes quickly and easily (as the lines for a part in a play); "he is a quick study"
learn by reading books; "He is studying geology in his room"; "I have an exam next week; I must hit the books now"
be a student; follow a course of study; be enrolled at an institute of learning
think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes; "He is meditating in his study"
give careful consideration to; "consider the possibility of moving"
a mode of action; "if you persist in that course you will surely fail"; "once a nation is embarked on a course of action it becomes extremely difficult for any retraction to take place"
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings; "he took a course in basket weaving"; "flirting is not unknown in college classes"
facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport; "the course had only nine holes"; "the course was less than a mile"
(construction) a layer of masonry; "a course of bricks"
part of a meal served at one time; "she prepared a three course meal"
a connected series of events or actions or developments; "the government took a firm course"; "historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available"
general line of orientation; "the river takes a southern course"; "the northeastern trend of the coast"
hunt with hounds; "He often courses hares"
move swiftly through or over; "ships coursing the Atlantic"
(psychology) a form of practice; repetition of information (silently or aloud) in order to keep it in short-term memory
a practice session in preparation for a public performance (as of a play or speech or concert); "he missed too many rehearsals"; "a rehearsal will be held the day before the wedding"
used of values and principles; not subject to change; steady; "undeviating loyalty"
going directly ahead from one point to another without veering or turning aside; "some people see evolution as an undeviating upward march from simple organisms to the very complex"; "a straight and narrow tree-lined road unswerving across the lowlands"
having or put to a practical purpose or use; "practical mathematics"; "practical applications of calculus"
concerned with actual use or practice; "he is a very practical person"; "the idea had no practical application"; "a practical knowledge of Japanese"; "woodworking is a practical art"