field of operations
- noun
- /fiːld əv ˌɒpəˈreɪʃənz/
- Specialized
- During the war, many battles were fought in a small field of operations near the coast.
Examples
-
The Shining Path's preferred field of operations in the Andes has been the ecological zone known as the puna, land that is generally above 4,000 meters.
Academic text (1993) -
The soldiers conducted their missions within a large field of operations in the mountainous region.
-
The general outlined the field of operations where the troops would engage the enemy forces during the conflict.
Synonyms
An area where soldiers fight during a war
An area where soldiers fight during a war
A large area where soldiers fight during a war
An area where soldiers fight during a war
An area where soldiers fight in a war
An area where soldiers are actively fighting during a war
An area where soldiers or armed groups are fighting
An area of land, sea, or air where military fighting happens
An area where soldiers fight the enemy
How Big
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an area where active military actions are taking place' is directly and compositionally derived from 'field' (an area/ground) + 'of' (linking) + 'operations' (planned military activities). This is a common, literal noun-of-noun construction found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should readily infer the overall meaning.
Etymology
The phrase field of operations comes from soldiers' life: they used field to mean open land away from their base and operations to mean 'actions' by troops. So, field of operations refers to the area where active military actions are taking place.