camp follower

See more synonyms for camp follower on Thesaurus.com

noun

a civilian not officially connected with a military unit, especially a prostitute, who follows or settles near an army camp.
a person who sympathizes with or espouses the aims of a group without belonging to it.

Origin of camp follower

First recorded in 1800–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for camp follower

acolyte, disciple, groupie, hanger-on, satellite

Examples from the Web for camp follower

Contemporary Examples of camp follower

Otmar was in the Army and Margit turned into a camp-follower, moving across the country to an endless stream of training posts.
At U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Anniversary, One Survivor’s Quest Continues
Sandra McElwaine
April 29, 2013

Historical Examples of camp follower

Another was sure she had been a camp-follower during the war.
The Spiritualists and the Detectives
Allan Pinkerton
She is only a camp-follower and protégée; and a compatriot of mine.
Tante
Anne Douglas Sedgwick
Do not be as if you were to enlist as a soldier, and end as a camp-follower.
The Young Man and the World
Albert J. Beveridge
One of the properties of a lizard's camp-follower is to leave the main body at the slightest intimation of danger.
Cobwebs From an Empty Skull
Ambrose Bierce (AKA: Dod Grile)
He may have been a camp-follower through the German and Flemish wars.
Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860
Henrietta Christian Wright

British Dictionary definitions for camp follower

camp follower

noun

any civilian, esp a prostitute, who unofficially provides services to military personnel
a nonmember who is sympathetic to a particular group, theory, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with camp follower

camp follower

A civilian who follows or settles near a military camp, especially a prostitute who does so. For example, The recruits were told not to associate with camp followers. [Early 1800s]

A person who sympathizes with a cause or group but does not join it. For example, She's only a camp follower so we can't count on her for a contribution.