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

During Earth Week, from 22 to 29 April, donations through the Big Give's Earth Raise campaign will be doubled by match funding, the organisation said.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

She entered the final days of her campaign with nearly double Hathaway’s fundraising and cash on hand.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026

Still, reading his interviews while on the campaign trail struck a painful sympathetic chord in me.

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026

A little more than a week ago, his campaign was on an upward trajectory.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

He reviewed the schedule of President Kennedy’s campaign speeches that day, then went up to Kennedy’s suite and was surprised to find his boss still in pajamas, unshaven.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

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