field day

noun

1

a

: a day for military exercises or maneuvers

b

: an outdoor meeting or social gathering

c

: a day of sports and athletic competition

2

: a time of extraordinary pleasure or opportunity

the newspaper had a field day with the scandal

Examples of field day in a Sentence

the fifth grade's annual field day

Recent Examples on the Web

The sole McLaren of Norris had a rather mid-field day, without the top speed to pass, even with the drag-reduction system. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2025

And if the fight in the Jets is anything like last week, that means Fields is in for a field day (what! —Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025

The Omaha Storm Chasers — the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate — had an offensive field day in their road game against the Columbus Clippers. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2025

Those who think Boone's even-keel attitude hurts the club were having a field day during the losing streak. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for field day

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

field day

noun

1

: a day of outdoor sports and athletic competition

2

: a time of unusual pleasure or unexpected success

newspapers had a field day with the story