afield
afield Lexical Profile
afield Game Scores & Validity
• adverb
To or at a distance from home, one's usual surroundings, or a central point of reference.
"Researchers traveled far afield to collect rare botanical specimens from remote mountain valleys."
Away from the main subject, expected course, or truth; astray.
"The committee's discussion wandered too far afield from the original budget proposal."
In or into the field, outdoors, or countryside, especially for work, sport, or military operations.
"Early in the morning, the surveyors went afield with their measuring instruments."
• adjective
Away from one's usual surroundings or home; wandering or straying from the right path or topic.
"Their initial estimates of the project's cost proved to be wide afield."
Word Nuance & Usage
Most commonly used with degree modifiers in idiomatic collocations such as 'far afield' or 'further afield' to indicate distance from a starting point or topic. When functioning as an adjective, it is strictly predicative and never precedes a noun.
• Rhymes for afield
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'afeld', derived from Old English 'on felda', meaning 'on or in the field', combining the preposition 'on' (reduced to the prefix 'a-') and 'feld' (field).