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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

Although Raman supported those efforts for much of Bass’ tenure, she criticized the program on the campaign trail, calling it expensive and ineffective.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

"But what is clear is this is just the beginning, and in light of recent events this campaign has never been more important."

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

By early September, Page sensed Andrews might win when he began seeing her yard signs in his neighborhood and noticed his wife responding favorably to her campaign ads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

Jimmy Biblarz, who served as a senior advisor and campaign counsel to Raman’s mayoral campaign, said he is prepared to launch a campaign if a special election is called.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

His plan was to show Republican leaders that he was a valuable asset to the campaign.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

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

Teachers, firefighters and other middle-class Californians became the face of their campaigns, fueling growing opposition ahead of election day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026

She still campaigns fiercely to see other families reunited -- a commitment that means she has not had significant time to spend with Artem.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

Ida Wells-Barnett and various women’s clubs launched liberty bond campaigns to raise money for the war effort.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

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

Allen, who has blasted Kim’s plan as too short on details, has campaigned on improving the current system, pointing to his long record of insurance industry reform bills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

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

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

Throughout 1932, the Hitler Youth campaigned heartily to get Nazis elected to the Reichstag, the legislative assembly or Parliament of Germany.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

"I have no objection to Bingley residents campaigning for their swimming pool. They are entitled to make their case. But why should Bradford West lose out?"

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 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

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

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 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

No more campaigning, no more sweating out strategy sessions or polls or debates or approval ratings, ever again.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

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

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