midfield

M3I1D2F4I1E1L1D2
/ˈmɪd.fiːld/

noun

The portion of a team which typically plays centrally, between the attack (or forwards) and the defence (or backs).

OriginEnglish field ← Middle English feld ← Old English feld →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nounmidfield (usually uncountable, plural midfields)

plural midfields

  1. uncountableusuallyhobbiesThe portion of a team which typically plays centrally, between the attack (or forwards) and the defence (or backs).

    England's win was built on industry and discipline, epitomised by the performances of Manchester City's Joleon Lescott in defence and Scott Parker in midfield.

    2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2022
    1 more example

    Ferguson, perhaps recalling how United had been comprehensively outfought in the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool last season, opted for a side with a more pragmatic look with Phil Jones moved into a midfield role.

    2011 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 21 Oct 2022
  2. uncountableusuallyhobbiesThe middle of the field of play.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Germanic*midjaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*midi
  7. Old Englishmidd
  8. Middle Englishmid
  9. Englishmid
  10. Englishmid-
  11. Proto-Germanic*felþuz
  12. Proto-West Germanic*felþu
  13. Old Englishfeld
  14. Middle Englishfeld
  15. Englishfield
  16. Englishmidfield

From mid- + field.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan centre del camp
  • centre del campmiddle of the field
Danish midtbane
  • midtbanemiddle of the field
Finnish keskikenttä
  • keskikenttämiddle of the field
Irish lárpháirc
  • lárpháircmiddle of the field
Italian centrocampo
  • centrocampomiddle of the field
Norwegian Bokmål midtbane
  • midtbanemiddle of the field
Portuguese meio-campo
  • meio-campomiddle of the field
Romanian centru de teren
  • centru de terenmiddle of the field
Swedish mittfält
  • mittfältmiddle of the field

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Fedlimid
Cite this entry
APA

midfield. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midfield

MLA

“midfield.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midfield. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “midfield,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midfield.

Source: midfield on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.