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)

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

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have campaigned
  perfect
• has campaigned
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is campaigning
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been campaigning
  perfect progressive
• has been campaigning
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am campaigning
  progressive 1st person singular
• are campaigning
  progressive
• campaigns
  singular 3rd person
• campaigning
  participle

Past

• had campaigned
  perfect
• were campaigning
  progressive plural
• was campaigning
  progressive singular
• had been campaigning
  perfect progressive
• campaigned
  simple
• campaigned
  participle

Future

• will campaign
  simple
• will have campaigned
  perfect
• will have been campaigning
  perfect progressive
• will be campaigning
  progressive

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

And through it all, Infantino had the support of U.S. soccer officials, who helped him campaign for the job and secure key votes in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean region.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Serena Williams' doubles campaign at Queen's is in jeopardy after her partner Victoria Mboko suffered a knee injury in her singles match against Karolina Pliskova.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Campaigners say the true figure -- if all corporate and campaign spending in Brussels were taken into account -- is much higher.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

In that ad campaign, Kalshi took swipes at its competitor Polymarket, pointing out that Kalshi is a U.S.-regulated exchange, while most of Polymarket’s trading happens offshore.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

Madison was quietly orchestrating the Republican campaign on behalf of Jefferson to succeed Washington.

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

Related Words

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