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

Etymology

Origin of campus

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

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

The project is located on a decommissioned uranium-enrichment site on federal land in southern Ohio, and the campus would require 10 gigawatts of electricity.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

By the late 1980s, Yancopoulos was an up-and-coming molecular biologist at Columbia’s campus in northern Manhattan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

It was the Penny Pictorial Magazine of 1900 that painted Osterberg's Dartford campus as "the one institution in the world which has for its single aim and object the production of physically perfect women".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

On Wednesday, CSU announced the appointment of a new president for the San Bernardino campus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

It’s the shortest, easiest run I’m attempting all summer, but as I walk down our street toward campus, I’m every bit as nervous as I was on graduation morning.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

For many, private school evokes images of elite academies, manicured campuses and plaid Catholic-school uniforms.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Ernst & Young offers a gamified accounting simulation on college campuses that lets prospective interns test their decision-making skills and get feedback.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Trusts are also "expected to set up some vaccination clinics on campuses", according to McBride.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Depending on how the tally is made, 30% to more than 40% of campuses have closed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

I’ve walked around the campuses nearby, seen all the buttoned-up students with their books and their satchels and their studious expressions.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Related Words

• dorm
• square