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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have campaignedperfect
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has campaignedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been campaigningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am campaigningprogressive 1st person singular
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are campaigningprogressive
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is campaigningprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been campaigningperfect progressive
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campaigningparticiple
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campaignssingular 3rd person
Past
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had campaignedperfect
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had been campaigningperfect progressive
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was campaigningprogressive singular
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were campaigningprogressive plural
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campaignedsimple
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campaignedparticiple
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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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.
Reece James is Tuchel's first choice at right-back but there are also question marks about his fitness, following another injury-plagued campaign.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
Youth digital rights campaign group 5Rights argues that tech giants will not flip away from their strategy of pitting innovation against regulation -- but that child safety could be a powerful counter-argument.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
In 2007 the American Cancer Society ran an alarming ad campaign about the mortality associated with skin cancer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
Some will carry large-scale banners inspired by Shepard Fairey’s Obey campaign and emblazoned with sociopolitical messages; others will hoist a disco ball shaped like the new museum.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
“I’ve got a website and social media campaign, and we did a booth at the Harvest Festival last weekend. My friends and I might even get a news guy to cover it.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
