Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. (context chiefly US English) a group of athletic sports, consisting mainly of various kinds of running, jumping and throwing, that take place on a track and the enclosed field
WordNet
n. participating in athletic sports performed on a running track or on the field associated with it
Wikipedia
Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from the sport's typical venue: a stadium with an oval running track enclosing a grass field where the throwing and jumping events take place. Track and field is categorised under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running, and race walking.
The foot racing events, which include sprints, middle- and long-distance events, race walking and hurdling, are won by the athlete with the fastest time. The jumping and throwing events are won by the athlete who achieves the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault, while the most common throwing events are shot put, javelin, discus and hammer. There are also "combined events" or "multi events", such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, and decathlon consisting of ten events. In these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with a single victor; the most prominent team events are relay races, which typically feature teams of four. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the men's and women's competitions are usually held at the same venue.
It is one of the oldest sports. In ancient times, it was an event held in conjunction with festivals and sports meets such as the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece. In modern times, the two most prestigious international track and field competitions are athletics competition at the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body.
Records are kept of the best performances in specific events, at world and national levels, right down to a personal level. However, if athletes are deemed to have violated the event's rules or regulations, they are disqualified from the competition and their marks are erased.
In North America, the term track and field may be used to refer to other athletics events, such as the marathon, rather than strictly track-based events.
Usage examples of "track and field".
It was really more of a major sports complex, with Olympic-sized swimming pools, track and field arenas, and dozens of huge rooms specializing in every sport imaginable.
Now, it's not as if there's not enough talent in the world in track and field.
The swimming stadium would be a good place to try: much smaller than the great bowl where the athletes competed in track and field.
Still, his name was high on the list that was read out at the banquet and ball that closed the five days of the track and field trials, and Shasa, who was sitting beside him, was the first to shake his hand and pound him between the shoulder blades.
You can't see it from here, but he's in superb physical shape, like a track and field man.
Unfortunately for him, the guardsman was a hurdler -- the lad runs track and field -- and vaulted the barriers there.