1. Home
2. Idioms
3. cover the field

cover the field

---

---

cover the field

To be thorough and comprehensive in what is presented or dealt with. This thesis will attempt to cover the field of English Law from 1950 to the present.

See also: cover, field

cover the field

Also, cover the territory or waterfront . Be comprehensive. For example, The review course will cover the field very well, or Bob's new assignment really covers the territory, or The superintendent's speech covered the waterfront on the drug problem. These expressions all employ the verb cover in the sense of "extend over" or "include," a usage dating from the late 1700s, with the nouns ( field, ground, territory, waterfront) each meaning "whole area."

See also: cover, field