From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpaddockpad‧dock /ˈpædək/ noun [countable] 1 DSH especially British English a small field in which horses are kept2 DSHa piece of ground where horses are brought together before a race so that people can look at them
Examples from the Corpus
paddock• A small group of horses in a paddock, perhaps three or four individuals, is more satisfactory than a large group.• When horses are put together in paddocks, they need to be carefully chosen for their mutual compatibility.• It was little Tero, turned out in the same paddock, offering silent sympathy.• Well, the answer was obvious to anyone in the paddock.• The camels were hobbled out to graze in the paddock.• Beveridge's death meant that signs of celebration were scarce in the paddock.• At the top end of the paddock Arkle haughtily stares into the distance.• Or the paddock, to be precise.Origin paddock (1600-1700) parrock “enclosed piece of ground” ((11-19 centuries)), from Old English pearroc