field trial

noun

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Definition of field trial

1 : a trial of sporting dogs in actual performance

2 : a trial of a new product in actual situations for which it is intended

Recent Examples of field trial from the Web

Facebook Terragraph is expected to begin field trials using a technology called 802.11ay, the successor to 802.11ad that debuted around 2016 or so.

— mark hachman, PCWorld, "Facebook's Terragraph hopes to replace fiber broadband beginning with 2019 trials," 21 May 2018
Many studies have shown harm to pollinators in laboratory settings; large field trials have produced mixed results.

— erik stokstad, Science | AAAS, "European Union expands ban of three neonicotinoid pesticides," 27 Apr. 2018
Early lab tests are promising, but field trials have yet to be conducted.

— rebecca albright, Scientific American, "Scientists Are Taking Extreme Steps to Help Corals Survive," 1 Jan. 2018
Sando likes to tell a story about a field trial at the University of California, Davis, a few years ago.

— junot díaz, The New Yorker, "The Hunt for Mexico’s Heirloom Beans," 17 Apr. 2018
But Verizon was already planning its 5G home Internet deployments in 2015, and the company started field trials in early 2016.

— jon brodkin, Ars Technica, "Here’s Ajit Pai’s “proof” that killing net neutrality created more broadband," 5 Feb. 2018
The company started conducting its 5G field trials in mid-2016.

— samantha ehlinger, San Antonio Express-News, "AT&T: Dallas and Waco will get mobile 5G by end of 2018," 21 Feb. 2018
The event's move to Southern California that year marks the first time since 2008 that the track and field trials will be held outside Eugene.

— elliot njus, OregonLive.com, "TriMet reverses, won't pull paper passes from stores this month," 8 Feb. 2018
If the field trials work well, the new bait might get federal approval in 2020, opening the way for states to approve it.

— janet mcconnaughey, The Seattle Times, "Feral hog poison field tests in Texas, Alabama in 2018," 26 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'field trial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of field trial

1849

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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