camel

American  

[kam-uhl] / ˈkæm əl /

noun

• camels
  plural

1. either of two large, humped, ruminant quadrupeds of the genus Camelus, of the Old World.

2. a color ranging from yellowish tan to yellowish brown.

3. Also called camel spin. Skating. a spin done in an arabesque position.

4. Nautical.

   1. Also called pontoon. a float for lifting a deeply laden vessel sufficiently to allow it to cross an area of shallow water.

   2. a float serving as a fender between a vessel and a pier or the like.

   3. caisson.

---

camel British  

/ ˈkæməl /

noun

1. either of two cud-chewing artiodactyl mammals of the genus Camelus : family Camelidae. They are adapted for surviving long periods without food or water in desert regions, esp by using humps on the back for storing fat See Arabian camel Bactrian camel

2. a float attached to a vessel to increase its buoyancy See also caisson

3. a raft or float used as a fender between a vessel and a wharf

4. 1. a fawn colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a camel dress

---

camel Idioms  

1. see under last straw.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• camellike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• camels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of camel

before 950; Middle English, Old English < Latin camēlus < Greek kámēlos < Semitic; compare Hebrew gāmāl

Explanation

A camel is a four-legged desert animal that's slightly larger than a horse. Camels are distinctive for the humps on their backs. There are two types of camels: the single-humped or dromedary and the two-humped camel. The first kind lives in the Middle East and parts of Africa, while the second is found in Central Asia. All camels are well-suited to life in the desert, going long periods without water and able to withstand high heat. The word camel comes from the Greek kamelos, and may be related to the Arabic jamala, "to bear."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

camel camels

Construction of L.A.’s Metro D Line extension in 2017 led to the discovery of camel and possible mammoth fossils.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

A study in Algeria, external, published this year, has shown a significant increase in camel deaths during summer heatwaves.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Mine is a shade of camel that my haberdasher insists on calling “whiskey.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Now, estimates of the wild camel population range from 300,000 to a million animals.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

She was tying the bundled rods of Smithy’s disassembled yurt to her camel.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Ortiz and six other spy-saboteurs, “their hands and faces already darkened by the unyielding sun, donned gandouras and turbans—what the famed T.E. Lawrence dubbed ‘Arab kit’—mounted a string of camels and rode south.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

She rode camels in Egypt, cruised the Nile River and hugged the pillars at Stonehenge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Obviously, clambering up and down the dangerously steep pass, ferrying goods on horseback or by mule or — for a few wacky, experimental months in the mid-1850s, Army camels — wasn’t workable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

"While camels remain the livestock herders' last line of defence against the desert, the unprecedented intensity of current heatwaves directly threatens their vital functions, turning this historically resilient animal into a climate victim," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

I saw the Libyan Desert, where nomads tend their camels as they did a thousand years ago.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

Related Words

• cream
• khaki
• off-white
• tan
• taupe