playing field

noun

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Definition of playing field

1 : a field for various games; especially : the part of a field officially marked off for play

2 : a set of conditions for competition —usually used in such phrases as a level playing field

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See playing field defined for kids

Recent Examples of playing field from the Web

From my perspective the biggest challenge our leaders face is leveling the playing field between rural and urban communities.

— charlotteobserver, "Ashley Christensen," 5 June 2018
The world of sports has two essential settings: the playing field and the locker room.

— robert o'connell, The Atlantic, "The NFL Tries to Push Protest Out of Sight," 24 May 2018
On the playing fields in Nagrig, children take it in turns to reenact Salah's latest efforts on the field their hero helped build.

— james masters, mary rogers and housam ahmed, CNN, "'Mohamed Salah? He's like the Sphinx and the Pyramids'," 1 May 2018
And while schools — college campuses, even — are rife with horror stories of helicopter parents, the damage from this overwrought behavior is particularly jaw-dropping on the courts and playing fields.

— ana veciana-suarez, miamiherald, "Misbehaving parents need a time-out from youth sports | Miami Herald," 2 Apr. 2018
Caitlin Duvall, 33, is from Ann Arbor, Mich., and played field hockey at Kent State in Ohio.

— jeff seidel, baltimoresun.com, "Couple knows success in coaching/teaching at Hereford High — and now in parenting," 22 May 2018
Senior Sophie Schreck, who is going to Stonehill to play field hockey, is batting .500.

— lori riley, courant.com, "High School Softball: Hand's Offense Making Difference This Season," 18 May 2018
The White House Correspondents Dinner is meant to be an even playing field, where every year, journalists and politicians gather to be uniformly ethered.

— danielle campoamor, Teen Vogue, "Michelle Wolf’s WHCD Jokes Sparked Backlash After Being Too Real," 30 Apr. 2018
At one point, all eyes were on one of the six playing fields as six robotics teams got ready to do battle.

— lori higgins, Detroit Free Press, "FIRST Championship: Wacky, 'weird' costumes, high fives and wild crowds," 26 Apr. 2018

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

First Known Use of playing field

circa 1584

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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PLAYING FIELD Defined for English Language Learners

playing field

noun

Definition of playing field for English Language Learners

: an area that is used for playing some sports; especially : the part of a field that is officially marked as the place where the action of a game happens