Standard Lemma guide

minefield

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈmaɪnˌfild/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M AY1 N F IY2 L D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An area in which land mines or naval mines have been laid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A matter or situation presenting multiple risks, dangers, complications or difficulties.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, figuratively

Examples

  • Be careful. Foreign property investments are a minefield, and some people have lost a lot of money.
  • Russian grammar can be a minefield.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A pitch that has dried out and crumbled and on which the ball is bouncing and spinning unpredictably.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A quiz that terminates when the test-taker answers a question incorrectly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: minefield quiz

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a region in which explosives mines have been placed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tract, piece of land, piece of ground, parcel of land, parcel

History

Etymology

From mine + field. Compare Saterland Frisian Mienenfäield (“minefield”), West Frisian mynfjild (“minefield”), Dutch mijnenveld (“minefield”), German Low German Minenfeld (“minefield”), German Minenfeld (“minefield”), Danish minefelt (“minefield”), Swedish minfält (“minefield”).

Across languages

Translations

53 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: حَقْلُ أَلْغَام (ḥaqlu ʔalḡām) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Armenian: ականապատ դաշտ (akanapat dašt) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Azerbaijani: mina sahəsi — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Belarusian: мі́ннае по́ле (mínnaje pólje) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Bulgarian: ми́нно поле́ (mínno polé) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雷區 /雷区 (léiqū) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Czech: minové pole — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Danish: minefelt — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Dutch: mijnenveld — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Estonian: miiniväli — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Finnish: miinakenttä — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Finnish: miinoite — area in which mines have been hidden
  • French: champ de mines — area in which mines have been hidden
  • German: Minenfeld — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Greek: ναρκοπέδιο (narkopédio) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Hungarian: aknamező — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Italian: campo minato — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Japanese: 地雷原 — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Khmer: តំបន់បង្កប់មីន (tɑmbɑn bɑɑbɑngkɑp miin) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Korean: 지뢰밭 (jiroebat) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Korean: 지뢰원 (jiroewon) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Macedonian: минско поле — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Mongolian: минажуулсан газар (minažuulsan gazar) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Norwegian Bokmål: minefelt — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: minefelt — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Polish: pole minowe — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Portuguese: campo minado — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Romanian: câmp minat — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Russian: ми́нное по́ле (mínnoje póle) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Slovak: mínové pole — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Spanish: campo de minas — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Spanish: campo minado — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Swedish: minfält — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Swedish: minerad mark — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Turkish: mayın tarlası — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Ukrainian: мі́нне по́ле (mínne póle) — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Vietnamese: bãi mìn — area in which mines have been hidden
  • Chinese Mandarin: 險境 /险境 (xiǎnjìng) — dangerous situation
  • Czech: minové pole — dangerous situation
  • Finnish: miinakenttä — dangerous situation
  • French: terrain miné — dangerous situation
  • French: terrain glissant — dangerous situation
  • German: Minenfeld — dangerous situation
  • Greek: ναρκοπέδιο (narkopédio) — dangerous situation
  • Hungarian: ingoványos terület — dangerous situation
  • Hungarian: veszélyes terep — dangerous situation
  • Italian: campo minato — dangerous situation
  • Portuguese: campo minado — dangerous situation
  • Russian: ми́нное по́ле (mínnoje póle) — dangerous situation
  • Spanish: campo de minas — dangerous situation
  • Spanish: campo minado — dangerous situation
  • Spanish: polvorín — dangerous situation
  • Swedish: minfält — dangerous situation
Real reading context

minefield in complete knowledge articles