campus

American  

[kam-puhs] / ˈkæm pəs /

noun

• campuses
  plural

1. the grounds, often including the buildings, of a college, university, or school.

2. a college or university.

   The large influx of older students radically changed many campuses throughout the country.

3. a division of a university that has its own grounds, buildings, and faculty but is administratively joined to the rest of the university.

4. the world of higher education.

   Foundation grants have had a marked effect on the character of the American campus.

5. a large, usually suburban, landscaped business or industrial site.

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campus British  

/ ˈkæmpəs /

noun

1. the grounds and buildings of a university

2. the outside area of a college, university, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercampus
  adjective
• noncampus
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• campuses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of campus

1765–75, < Latin: flat place, field, plain

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Explanation

The land and various buildings that make up a college are its campus. If you live on campus, you'll be close to your classes. When you hear the word campus, you generally think of a college or university, which include libraries and labs and classrooms and dormitories, all of which make up a campus. Other institutions, including hospitals, high schools, and some companies' office buildings, also have campuses. The word campus is Latin for "a field" or "an expanse surrounded."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

campus campuses

Almost overnight, the conflict transformed the atmosphere on campus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Across campus, he credited staff and faculty with “stepping up, asking how can we do more with less.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Before Cornell could implement many of those changes, the campus would be rocked again in October 2019.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

USC is also leaning into artificial intelligence, with a $200-million gift from Nvidia board member Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary Stevens, meant to infuse AI across the campus and recruit AI researchers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The stupid fountain Regan had mentioned sat on the opposite side of campus from my dorm, and I picked up the pace.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

This strange modern shrine celebrated Mao’s 1968 distribution of a Pakistani diplomatic gift of mangoes to workers at university campuses in Beijing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Its restaurants remain closed on Sundays, including locations where that choice may seem commercially inconvenient like airports and college campuses.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Survivors, students and advocates rallied and protested in communities and on college campuses across more than 40 states.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The J-1 investigations follow other actions, making it more difficult for international students to come to U.S. campuses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Many of them end up at its satellite campuses, or at West Chester, Bloomsburg, Slippery Rock, or other institutions in Pennsylvania’s network of publicly supported colleges.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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