campaign
Americannoun
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the competition by rival political candidates and organizations for public office.
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a systematic course of aggressive activities for some specific purpose.
a sales campaign.
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Military.
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military operations for a specific objective.
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Obsolete. the military operations of an army in the field for one season.
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a story in a role-playing game, spread out over multiple play sessions, that usually keeps the same plot, setting, or main characters.
Last week we finished our campaign and I already miss it.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a series of coordinated activities, such as public speaking and demonstrating, designed to achieve a social, political, or commercial goal
a presidential campaign
an advertising campaign
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military a number of complementary operations aimed at achieving a single objective, usually constrained by time or geographic area
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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campaignsimple
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campaignssimple
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have campaignedperfect
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has campaignedperfect
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am campaigningprogressive
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are campaigningprogressive
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is campaigningprogressive
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have been campaigningperfect progressive
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has been campaigningperfect progressive
Past
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campaignedsimple
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had campaignedperfect
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was campaigningprogressive
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were campaigningprogressive
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had been campaigningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of campaign
First recorded in 1620–30; from French campagne, from Italian campagna, from Late Latin campānia “level district,” equivalent to Latin camp(us) “field” + -ān(us) -an + -ia -ia
Explanation
A campaign is any series of actions or events that are meant to achieve a particular result, like an advertising campaign of television commercials and Internet ads that tries to convince kids to buy bubble gum-flavored toothpaste. The noun campaign describes any group of actions that are done with an ultimate purpose in mind. The goal of a political campaign is to put a candidate in office. The goal of a military campaign might be to take over a city, as in General Sherman's Civil War campaign to capture Atlanta. Campaign can also be used as a verb, like when an environmental organization campaigns to prevent a developer from building a shopping mall by asking people to sign petitions and soliciting their members of congress.
Vocabulary lists containing campaign
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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I Am Malala
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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.
Campaign groups have warned that the company's products pose risks related to mass surveillance, infringements on individual freedoms and data protection.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
Campaign finance records show she paid for 80 email blasts, mailers and other messages that sought to influence voters.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Campaign strategists love to tout a military record, a blue-collar résumé, small-business ownership, and a life of family and faith, in part because they suggest qualities that bode well for a political leader.
From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026
The Campaign to Protect Rural England had a gorgeous carved wooden figure of Mother Nature, illustrating the theme of gardens at the edge of towns.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Because of speeches like these, Marupeng became extremely popular during the Defiance Campaign, but popularity is only one factor in an election.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
