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  • camp
    camp
    noun
    a place where an army or other group of persons or an individual is lodged in a tent or tents or other temporary means of shelter.
  • Camp
    Camp
    noun
    Walter Chauncey 1859–1925, U.S. football coach and author.
  • cAMP
    cAMP
    noun
Synonyms

camp

1 American  
[kamp] / kæmp /

noun

  1. a place where an army or other group of persons or an individual is lodged in a tent or tents or other temporary means of shelter.

  2. such tents or shelters collectively.

    The regiment transported its camp in trucks.

  3. the persons so sheltered.

    The camp slept through the storm.

  4. the act of camping out.

    Camp is far more pleasant in summer than in winter.

  5. any temporary structure, as a tent or cabin, used on an outing or vacation.

  6. a group of troops, workers, etc., camping and moving together.

  7. army life.

  8. a group of people favoring the same ideals, doctrines, etc..

    Most American voters are divided into two camps, Republicans and Democrats.

  9. any position in which ideals, doctrines, etc., are strongly entrenched.

    After considering the other side's argument, he changed camps.

  10. a recreation area in the country, equipped with extensive facilities for sports.

  11. day camp.

  12. summer camp.


verb (used without object)

  1. to establish or pitch a camp.

    The army camped in the valley.

  2. to live temporarily in or as if in a camp or outdoors, usually for recreation (often followed byout ).

    They camped by the stream for a week.

  3. to reside or lodge somewhere temporarily or irregularly, especially in an apartment, room, etc..

    They camped in our apartment whenever they came to town.

  4. to settle down securely and comfortably; become ensconced.

    The kids camped on our porch until the rain stopped.

  5. to take up a position stubbornly.

    They camped in front of the president's office.

verb (used with object)

  1. to put or station (troops) in a camp; shelter.

  2. Digital Technology. (in a video game)

    1. to hunt or search for (an enemy or item) by maintaining a position where it is known to spawn.

      There were a couple of us camping a notorious monster for rare dropped items.

    2. to hide or take cover in (a relatively safe play area), often as part of an ambush strategy for attacking other characters.

      Camp a choke point like the bridge, or just hide in the bushes with a sniper rifle and you’ll be the last man standing.

camp 2 American  
[kamp] / kæmp /

noun

  1. something that provides irreverent or knowing amusement, as by virtue of its being theatrically stylized and extravagantly artificial, self-consciously artless, or ironically ingenuous.

  2. a person who adopts a teasing, theatrical manner, especially for the amusement of others.


verb (used without object)

  1. Also camp it up to speak or behave in a coquettishly playful or extravagantly theatrical manner.

adjective

  1. campy.

    camp Hollywood musicals of the 1940s.

Camp 3 American  
[kamp] / kæmp /

noun

  1. Walter Chauncey 1859–1925, U.S. football coach and author.


cAMP 4 American  
[kamp] / kæmp /

noun

Biochemistry.
  1. cyclic AMP.


camp 1 British  
/ kæmp /

noun

  1. a place where tents, cabins, or other temporary structures are erected for the use of military troops, for training soldiers, etc

  2. the military life

  3. tents, cabins, etc, used as temporary lodgings by a group of travellers, holiday-makers, Scouts, etc

  4. the group of people living in such lodgings

  5. a field or paddock fenced off as pasture

  6. a group supporting a given doctrine or theory

    the socialist camp

  7. a place where sheep or cattle gather to rest

  8. (modifier) suitable for use in temporary quarters, on holiday, etc, esp by being portable and easy to set up

    a camp bed

    a camp chair

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to establish or set up a camp

  2. to live temporarily in or as if in a tent

  3. (tr) to put in a camp

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
camp 2 British  
/ kæmp /

adjective

  1. effeminate; affected in mannerisms, dress, etc

  2. homosexual

  3. consciously artificial, exaggerated, vulgar, or mannered; self-parodying, esp when in dubious taste

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to perform or invest with a camp quality

    1. to seek to focus attention on oneself by making an ostentatious display, overacting, etc

    2. to flaunt one's homosexuality

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a camp quality, style, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Camp 3 British  
/ kæmp /

noun

  1. Walter ( Chauncey ). 1859–1925, US sportsman and administrator; he introduced new rules to American football, which distinguished it from rugby.

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

camp Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing camp


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of camp1

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French can, camp, originally dialect (Normandy, Picardy) or from Old Provençal, from Italian campo, from Latin campus “field, battlefield”; compare Old English campe, compe “battle, battlefield” (cognate with German Kampf “struggle”), from Germanic, from Latin

Origin of camp2

First recorded in 1865–70 as campish; spelling camp dates to 1905–10; of uncertain origin; perhaps from French se camper “to pose, portray oneself”; perhaps dialectal camp “impetuous, uncouth person,” hence, “slightly objectionable, effeminate, gay”; in some senses probably special use of camp 1 (in the sense “army camp”), where “camp followers,” a euphemism for prostitutes, were notorious for licentiousness

Explanation

When you camp, you set up a temporary place to sleep outdoors, often in a tent. Many people like to camp in a beautiful spot, like the mountains or beside a lake. Use the word camp to describe what you do when you sleep under the stars, and also the site itself — after a day of hiking, you could say, "Let's head back to camp." You can also talk about your usual group of friends or co-workers as your camp. Political parties are described this way sometimes: "She was popular in the Democratic camp." The root is the Latin word campus, which means "open field, or level space."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing camp

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Weeks later at Packers training camp, Rodgers was asked about the subject.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 21, 2026

Rahela Begum survived the horrors of war in Myanmar and life in the world's largest refugee camp in Bangladesh -- only to end up drifting at sea, clinging to a wooden plank.

From Barron's Jul. 21, 2026

“The capex trade will eventually end, likely in a destructive way,” said Correa and Weisberger from the bull camp.

From MarketWatch Jul. 20, 2026

A few weeks ago, I dropped my son off at sleep-away camp for the first time.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 19, 2026

Returning to camp we could barely lift our swollen and aching legs.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

You may remember the president invoking it repeatedly in California, after 2018’s deadly Camp Fire and during last year’s Palisades burns.

From Slate Jul. 21, 2026

Parts of Kerr County, where Camp Mystic is located, received up to 2 feet of water since Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 16, 2026

Prosecutors alleged in the court documents that the violations appeared to date back to the beginning of the company’s contract with the Marine Corps Police Department at Camp Pendleton.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 15, 2026

Amentum holds contracts in a range of sectors including space exploration, national security, robotics, and environmental remediation; and in April 2026 took over the contract for an ICE facility in Texas, Camp East Montana.

From Salon Jul. 9, 2026

Macklin described what a visitor might see if he stumbled upon Ocean Camp at midnight.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

"It was not an all or nothing phenomenon. We observed that cAMP responses across cells varied on a continuum," said co-corresponding author Michael Krashes, Ph.D., a senior investigator at NIDDK.

From Science Daily May 25, 2026

Researchers found that some neurons maintained elevated cAMP levels for longer periods while semaglutide was present.

From Science Daily May 25, 2026

These high levels of cAMP then inhibited NETosis in response to various disease-relevant stimuli.

From Science Daily Sep. 22, 2023

PDE is always present in the cell and breaks down cAMP to control hormone activity, preventing overproduction of cellular products.

From Textbooks Jun. 9, 2022

Hormone binding to receptor activates a G-protein, which in turn activates adenylyl cyclase, converting ATP to cAMP. cAMP is a second messenger that mediates a cell-specific response.

From Textbooks Jun. 9, 2022

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