left field

See synonyms for: left fieldleft fields on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. Baseball.

    • the area of the outfield to the left of center field, as viewed from home plate.

    • the position of the player covering this area.

  2. Slang. a position or circumstance that is remote from an ordinary or general trend.

Idioms about left field

  1. out in left field, Slang. completely mistaken; wrong.

Origin of left field

1
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use left field in a sentence

  • It was a fly to left field, as long as the one that had baffled Prissler a moment before, but much higher.

  • Just before his leg hit the sack at second, Bonfire stole a glance toward left field.

  • Weir lifted a high fly to left field, and when the ball dropped into the fielder's hands Ray ran home on the throw-in.

    The Young Pitcher | Zane Grey
  • I held down left field for two seasons on the greatest college team ever developed out West.

    The Young Pitcher | Zane Grey
  • That means he swings at the ball late and makes most of his drives to left field.

    Pitching in a Pinch | Christy Mathewson

British Dictionary definitions for left-field

left-field

adjective
  1. informal regarded as being outside the mainstream; unconventional

Origin of left-field

1
C20: from baseball term left field, the area of the outfield to the batter's left, regarded as the scene of little action

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with left field

left field

see out in left field.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.