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.
such tents or shelters collectively.
The regiment transported its camp in trucks.
the persons so sheltered.
The camp slept through the storm.
the act of camping out.
Camp is far more pleasant in summer than in winter.
any temporary structure, as a tent or cabin, used on an outing or vacation.
a group of troops, workers, etc., camping and moving together.
army life.
a group of people favoring the same ideals, doctrines, etc..
Most American voters are divided into two camps, Republicans and Democrats.
any position in which ideals, doctrines, etc., are strongly entrenched.
After considering the other side's argument, he changed camps.
a recreation area in the country, equipped with extensive facilities for sports.
to establish or pitch a camp.
The army camped in the valley.
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.
to reside or lodge somewhere temporarily or irregularly, especially in an apartment, room, etc..
They camped in our apartment whenever they came to town.
to settle down securely and comfortably; become ensconced.
The kids camped on our porch until the rain stopped.
to take up a position stubbornly.
They camped in front of the president's office.
to put or station (troops) in a camp; shelter.
Digital Technology. (in a video game)
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.
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.
something that provides irreverent or knowing amusement, as by virtue of its being theatrically stylized and extravagantly artificial, self-consciously artless, or ironically ingenuous.
a person who adopts a teasing, theatrical manner, especially for the amusement of others.
a place where tents, cabins, or other temporary structures are erected for the use of military troops, for training soldiers, etc
the military life
tents, cabins, etc, used as temporary lodgings by a group of travellers, holiday-makers, Scouts, etc
the group of people living in such lodgings
a field or paddock fenced off as pasture
a group supporting a given doctrine or theory
the socialist camp
a place where sheep or cattle gather to rest
(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
to establish or set up a camp
to live temporarily in or as if in a tent
(tr) to put in a camp
effeminate; affected in mannerisms, dress, etc
homosexual
consciously artificial, exaggerated, vulgar, or mannered; self-parodying, esp when in dubious taste
(tr) to perform or invest with a camp quality
to seek to focus attention on oneself by making an ostentatious display, overacting, etc
to flaunt one's homosexuality
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
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
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Weeks later at Packers training camp, Rodgers was asked about the subject.
From Los Angeles Times ● 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
Tuchel has spoken often about the "brotherhood" within the camp - they've had to lean on that connection in recent days.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 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
We’ll have a nice meal when we leave this town and camp for the night.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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
The company said its contract with Camp Pendleton did not make any reference to the federal law.
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
There are approximately 26 million children off to summer day camps and sleepaway camps, said Henry DeHart, CEO of the American Camp Association.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
He wondered who was defending Camp Jupiter now that the legion had marched east, especially with all the monsters Gaea was unleashing from the Doors of Death.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
"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
Their experiments showed that semaglutide's impact depended heavily on increased levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cAMP, in the area postrema, a part of the brain involved in appetite regulation.
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
Interestingly, the team found that in addition to PTH induction, activation of cAMP and PKC also resulted in overexpression of Gprc5a, albeit to a lesser extent, underscoring the potential involvement of other molecular pathways.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024
To stop hormone activity, cAMP is deactivated by the cytoplasmic enzyme phosphodiesterase, or PDE.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Second messengers, e.g., cAMP and Ca2+, are often used to transmit signals within a cell.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
