take the field

take the field — idiom

1. of a sports team or player: to walk or run onto the playing surface (a field, pi

1.idiomB2
Definition

of a sports team or player: to walk or run onto the playing surface (a field, pitch, or track) at the beginning of a match to start competing.

Example

Fans cheered as Otis and his teammates took the field for the championship final.

collocation: take the field for [event]

Before taking the field, Sirin stretched carefully and checked her shin guards.

Common collocations
  • take the field for [team / event]
  • take the field against [opponent]
  • take the field in [competition / final / semi-final]
  • take the field wearing [colour / kit]
  • take the field for the first time this season
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • leave the field

    describes exiting the field after the match ends, the opposite action

Usage Note

Used almost exclusively for team sports played on a field or pitch (American football, soccer, rugby, hockey, cricket, baseball). Not used for individual sports such as tennis, boxing, or athletics, where different verbs (enter the court, step into the ring, line up) are preferred.

Common Mistakes

The boxer took the field for his title fight.
The boxer entered the ring for his title fight.
'take the field' is for field or pitch sports, not combat sports.
We took the field for our tennis match.
We walked onto the court for our tennis match.
Tennis uses a court, not a field.

Synonym discussion

Sense: idiom/1

All four describe getting into position to start a sports match, but they differ in register and scope. 'Take the field' is a fixed idiom with a ceremonial, team-focused tone — you would hear it in news headlines and commentary ('The Lions take the field for the second half'). 'Enter the pitch' is more literal and common in British English, but carries no special drama. 'Go out onto the field' is a plain-language paraphrase suitable for learners at lower levels. 'Line up' shifts attention to the formal pre-match formation (teams are called onto the pitch and they line up for the national anthem). For casual speech you might say 'The teams are on the pitch now' rather than using any of these phrases.

take the field ↗enter the pitchgo out onto the fieldline up

Etymology

English

This phrase originated in 16th-century military language, where armies would 'take the field' to begin a battle — taking the battlefield. By the mid-1800s it had been adopted into the language of team sports, preserving the sense of moving onto a defined space to start a structured contest. The underlying metaphor (sport as war) is less active today, but the idiom retains its formal, occasion-marking tone.