camper
Americannoun
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a person who camps out for recreation, especially in the wilderness.
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a person who attends a summer camp or day camp.
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Also called pickup camper, truck camper. a trucklike vehicle, van, or trailer that is fitted or suitable for recreational camping, or a pickup truck on which a structure fitted for camping is mounted.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person who lives or temporarily stays in a tent, cabin, etc
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a vehicle equipped for camping out
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of camper
1625–35; 1960–65 camper for def. 3; camp 1 + -er 1
Explanation
Anyone who regularly hikes into the woods, pitches a tent, and spends the night under the stars, snuggled into a sleeping bag, is a camper. People who go camping are campers, whether they sleep under the stars, in a cabin, or in a fancy Winnebago. And if you do have a recreational vehicle, you can say you're a camper who sleeps in your camper! The common colloquial phrase happy camper was coined in the 1980s: when you're a happy camper, you're as content as a kid who's having a blast at summer camp, paddling canoes on the lake and eating s'mores by the fire.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Camper vans also are widely available for rent here, with rates starting at around 65 euros to 85 euros a day, or roughly $77 to $100, depending on size and location.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025
With the Band’s demise, Hudson settled into a consistent life as a session musician, appearing on records by Poco, Van Morrison, the Call, Camper Van Beethoven, Mary Gauthier and many others.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2025
The ship is managed by Camper and Nicholsons International.
From BBC • Aug. 19, 2024
House Minority Leader Karen Camper called the rollout of the new ticket system “horrible.”
From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2024
Going down at once to the hall, I found old Mr. Camper there, the rich merchant, in a state of great agitation.
From The Lights and Shadows of Real Life by Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
