field guide
- noun
- /fiːld ɡaɪd/
- She often referred to her field guide to learn about the animals she saw during her hikes.
- field guide for birds
- field guide to identify
Examples
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The Progressive Policy Institute earlier this year published Civic Environmentalism in Action: A Field Guide to Regional and Local Initiatives.
Academic text (1999) -
Using classification keys and field guides, identify the species found in the pools you examined.
Academic text (1995) -
A few days later, my married daughter saw my new field guide and asked about it.
Blog text (3) -
Students can use field guides to select other tree leaves and seeds.
Academic text (1995) -
Identification guides and field guides enable students to name a bird they saw in their neighborhood.
Academic text (2001) -
I then looked it up in my field guide and discovered that Utah has Spotted Towhees.
Blog text (3) -
Herpetological field guides to remote corners of the world are becoming more common.
Blog text (21) -
The Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service (NRAES) recently published the Field Guide to On-Farm Composting.
Academic text (1999) -
Before heading into the forest, make sure to pack a field guide to help identify the various plants you might encounter.
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A good field guide can make nature walks much more enjoyable by helping you recognize different species of birds.
Synonyms
A book that gives simple instructions and basic information
A short book with useful information and instructions about a subject or place
A book that gives information and advice about a place or activity
How Detailed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is largely compositional — a 'guide' for use 'in the field' — so its meaning as a book for identifying plants/animals is derivable from the parts. However, it depends on knowing the 'field' sense meaning outdoor/natural environment (not only 'academic subject'), so learners who only know the latter sense may be misled; this sense-dependence makes it only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase field guide comes from the simple picture of a small book you take into the field to help you. As a guide, it shows pictures and short notes so you can 'identify' plants, animals, or rocks while you are outside. So the name means a book for identifying things in nature.