Definition

Noun: A compact, portable book designed to help identify and provide essential information about natural objects—such as birds, plants, insects, rocks, or mushrooms—that one might find in their natural outdoor environment. It typically contains illustrations, photographs, descriptions, and distribution maps.

Usage

A "field guide" is used by hobbyists, naturalists, students, and scientists for on-the-spot identification and learning during outdoor activities like hiking, birdwatching, or foraging. * Always bring a field guide when you go birdwatching to identify the species you see. * The botanist consulted her field guide to confirm the name of the wildflower. * This field guide to insects is organized by color for easy reference.

Advanced Usage

• Digital/App-based Field Guide: Refers to a modern, electronic version of a field guide, often an application for a smartphone or tablet.
  • Many birders now use a digital field guide app that includes bird calls.
• As a modifier: The term can be used attributively to describe the type or style of a guide.
  • He prefers the field guide format over more encyclopedic natural history books.

Variants and Related Words

• Guidebook: A more general term for a book of information about a place or subject. A field guide is a specific type of guidebook.
• Handbook: A concise reference book providing essential information on a subject, which may or may not be designed for field use.
• Manual: A book of instructions, typically more technical and less focused on visual identification than a field guide.

Synonyms

• Identification guide
• Nature guide
• Naturalist's handbook

Related Phrases

• In the field: A phrase meaning while engaged in practical work or research outdoors, which is where a field guide is used.
  • The researcher made notes in the field and verified them with her field guide later.

Noun

1. a guidebook describing natural objects of some type that might be encountered in the field
   • a field guide to mushrooms