encampment

American  

[en-kamp-muhnt] / ɛnˈkæmp mənt /

noun

1. an act or instance of encamping; lodgment in a camp.

2. the place or quarters occupied in camping; camp.

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encampment British  

/ ɪnˈkæmpmənt /

noun

1. the act of setting up a camp

2. the place where a camp, esp a military camp, is set up

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Etymology

Origin of encampment

First recorded in 1590–1600; encamp + -ment

Explanation

An encampment is a temporary area made up of tents or other makeshift shelters set up by campers, soldiers, or people without permanent homes. An encampment can provide shelter, community, and a base of operations, whether for recreation, protest, or military purposes. Encampments may pop up when people are displaced by war, natural disasters, or other hardships. Sometimes people create an encampment at a music festival or during a protest so that there is a place to stay and rest without having to leave the area.

Example Sentences

Those who participated in the destruction would be “held accountable,” she wrote, adding: “The Encampment has crossed a line. Those in the Encampment must leave.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2024

I was on Columbia’s campus on the night Hamilton Hall was raided by police and had been reporting on the protests since the Gaza Solidarity Encampment there began.

From Slate • Jun. 4, 2024

Three school administrators and four members of the Evergreen Gaza Solidarity Encampment signed a memorandum of understanding at 9:45 p.m.

From Seattle Times • May 2, 2024

Encampment sweeps were a frequent tactic of Mr. Adams’s predecessor, Bill de Blasio — the number of sweeps the city conducts has remained around the same under Mr. Adams.

From New York Times • May 4, 2022

As we march towards Boston, we meet every Mile upon the Way another Column of Patriots bound for the Encampment at Cambridge.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• campground
• campsite