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The English use of campaign was originally associated with what?

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campaign

American  

[kam-payn] / kæmˈpeɪn /

noun

• campaigns
  plural

1. the competition by rival political candidates and organizations for public office.

2. a systematic course of aggressive activities for some specific purpose.

   a sales campaign.

   Synonyms:

   offensive, push, effort, drive

3. Military.

   1. military operations for a specific objective.

   2. Obsolete. the military operations of an army in the field for one season.

4. 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.

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verb (used without object)

• campaigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• campaigned,
  past participle,  past
• campaigning
  present participle

1. to serve in or go on a campaign.

   He planned to campaign for the candidate.

   My daughter has been campaigning for a later curfew for months.

verb (used with object)

• campaigns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• campaigned,
  past participle,  past
• campaigning
  present participle

1. to race (a horse, boat, car, etc.) in a number or series of competitions.

campaign British  

/ kæmˈpeɪn /

noun

1. 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

2. military a number of complementary operations aimed at achieving a single objective, usually constrained by time or geographic area

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verb

1. to conduct, serve in, or go on a campaign

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• campaigner
  noun
• countercampaign
  noun
• precampaign
  noun
• recampaign
  verb
• uncampaigning
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• campaigns
  plural

Participles

• campaigning
  present
• campaigned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• campaign
  simple
• campaigns
  simple
• have campaigned
  perfect
• has campaigned
  perfect
• am campaigning
  progressive
• are campaigning
  progressive
• is campaigning
  progressive
• have been campaigning
  perfect progressive
• has been campaigning
  perfect progressive

Past

• campaigned
  simple
• had campaigned
  perfect
• was campaigning
  progressive
• were campaigning
  progressive
• had been campaigning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will campaign
  simple
• will have campaigned
  perfect
• will be campaigning
  progressive
• will have been campaigning
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

campaign campaigns campaigned campaigning

His limited appearances during the fall election campaign season and curtailed book tour have put a spotlight on his health as he deals with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

When Lazzeri first arrived in the nation’s capital in August, lawmakers were busy getting ready to campaign for the midterms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

He had hammered the issues of cost of living, healthcare, and corruption while on the campaign trail.

From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2026

Farah's mother said she would campaign in her daughter's name for sentences around coercive and controlling behaviour to be longer.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

Morgan thought they were friends, especially since he contributed large sums of money to Roosevelt's presidential campaign.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Her father, photographer Wynn Miller, shot multiple campaigns for the brand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

The ability to conduct coherent, long-term strategic campaigns is hampered by the American public’s short attention span and forgetfulness of history’s lessons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

"Don't miss this opportunity," he said, adding that the accord had been "targeted by attacks and disinformation campaigns."

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026

And the leading indicators point to three specific recalibrations, not three new marketing campaigns:

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026

Alice Paul recognized the power of the simple phrase, and she often used it in her lobbying campaigns.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

The councilmember supported many of the mayor’s initiatives and campaigned with her while running for reelection in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2026

She campaigned on slowing down data-center development and her opposition to certain land deals that involve the world’s richest man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

Abdul El-Sayed, 42, born to Egyptian immigrant parents, playfully addressed Vice-President JD Vance, who had campaigned against him but will now swear him into office in January as Michigan's new Senator.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

He campaigned with Zohran Mamdani during his whirlwind trip to Gracie Mansion.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

So I campaigned and campaigned up until the day of the election.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Governing is harder than campaigning, so those concerns aren’t totally unjustified.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026

One was better-than-feared messaging from Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who had promised a tougher approach to data-center regulation while campaigning.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

"He's the president. He's not going to spend his time campaigning 24/7," said Krish Mathrani, the Michigan Republican Party's youth chair.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

For Luna, campaigning has meant long hours away from his loved ones, so he’s excited to be able to focus solely on his work as sheriff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

They held debates and voting parties and did all manner of campaigning.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

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Related Words

• crusade
• drive
• fight
• movement
• offensive
• operation
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