field trip: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Medium-HighNeutral, common in educational and professional contexts
Quick answer
What does “field trip” mean?
A journey made by a group of students, often under supervision, to a place outside their normal classroom environment to learn through direct observation and experience.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A journey made by a group of students, often under supervision, to a place outside their normal classroom environment to learn through direct observation and experience.
Any organized trip or excursion, often for educational, research, or professional purposes, to a location relevant to the participants' studies or work.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant semantic difference. Both use the compound noun 'field trip'. Spelling remains the same.
Connotations
Identical connotations of organized, educational travel.
Frequency
Equally common in both varieties, especially in school and university contexts.
Grammar
How to Use “field trip” in a Sentence
go on a field trip to [PLACE]organise a field trip for [GROUP]a field trip to study [TOPIC]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “field trip” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The class will be field-tripping to the Natural History Museum next Tuesday.
- We field-tripped across several archaeological sites.
American English
- The professor field-tripped the entire geology class to the canyon.
- We're field-tripping to the state capital next month.
adverb
British English
- (Not standard; no common adverbial use.)
American English
- (Not standard; no common adverbial use.)
adjective
British English
- Please bring your field-trip permission slip.
- We had a brilliant field-trip day.
American English
- Don't forget your field trip permission form.
- The field trip coordinator is Ms. Jones.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare. Might be used humorously or for corporate training excursions (e.g., 'a field trip to the factory').
Academic
Primary context. Common at all levels of education and in research (e.g., 'an archaeological field trip').
Everyday
Common, especially among parents, teachers, and students discussing school activities.
Technical
Used in pedagogy, anthropology, geology, ecology, etc., to denote data-gathering trips.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “field trip”
- Using 'field trip' for any journey (e.g., 'We went on a field trip to the mall for fun').
- Misspelling as one word: 'fieldtrip' (should be two words or hyphenated).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is most commonly written as two separate words ('field trip'). The hyphenated form ('field-trip') is sometimes used when it functions as a compound modifier before a noun (e.g., 'field-trip permission').
Yes. While strongly associated with school children, the term is also used for university students, researchers, and professionals when the trip has a clear educational or investigative purpose (e.g., 'a teacher development field trip').
They are often synonymous. However, 'excursion' can be more general and include purely recreational trips. 'Field trip' unambiguously stresses the educational or research component.
No. The 'field' refers to the place of study or investigation, which can be anywhere relevant: a museum, factory, city centre, historical site, or laboratory.
A journey made by a group of students, often under supervision, to a place outside their normal classroom environment to learn through direct observation and experience.
Field trip is usually neutral, common in educational and professional contexts in register.
Field trip: in British English it is pronounced /ˈfiːld ˌtrɪp/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈfild ˌtrɪp/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “It's not a field trip. (Used to emphasize that an outing is serious work, not leisure.)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a trip where you walk through a FIELD to learn about plants, connecting the words literally to the core educational experience outdoors.
Conceptual Metaphor
EDUCATION IS A JOURNEY (The classroom is the starting point; the field trip is a leg of the journey to new knowledge).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the term 'field trip' LEAST appropriate?