campaign

American  

[kam-peyn] / kæmˈpeɪn /

noun

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)

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)

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

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

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.

Example Sentences

Lifting silverware would undoubtedly delight supporters, but concerns over a troubled campaign and anger towards the Clearlake-Boehly ownership group will likely persist.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

Eurovision organizers capped votes at 10 per person and warned Israel’s broadcaster Kan after its lobbying campaign for a past contestant.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Meanwhile it appears Streeting, who delivered a wide-ranging speech at the think tank event, has kicked off a leadership campaign in all but name.

From Barron's • May 16, 2026

This week, pressed by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during an appearance before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Patel denied any such targeting campaign.

From Salon • May 16, 2026

This last remark, while vintage Adams-Rush banter, also exposed the painfully egotistical motives lurking beneath the entire Adams campaign for a more realistic, nonmythologized version of the American Revolution.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

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