camp it up

Idioms

Make an extravagant, affected, or vulgar display, as in Amateur actors often camp it up, trying to be more dramatic. Originating in the 1950s as slang for flamboyant behavior stereotypically associated with gay men, this term began to be used more loosely by about 1970. Also see ham it up.

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.

They acquired footage from National Geographic but were mindful not to camp it up.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 1, 2017

“I used to camp it up something terrible when we played the song,” he says.

From The Guardian • Jun. 14, 2016

If you’re hanging with your sister queens, you’re going to camp it up, and if you’re presenting a PowerPoint for a big marketing project, you’re probably not going to.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2015

It hews closer to the sinewy 1935 novel, and director Kurt Beattie and cohorts don't camp it up — not even in the period costumes, by Annie Smart.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 29, 2011

To camp it up and play it as parody must have been temptations difficult to resist.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023