campus

American  

[kam-puhs] / ˈkæm pəs /

noun

• campuses
  plural

1. the grounds, often including the buildings, of a college, university, or school.

2. a college or university.

   The large influx of older students radically changed many campuses throughout the country.

3. a division of a university that has its own grounds, buildings, and faculty but is administratively joined to the rest of the university.

4. the world of higher education.

   Foundation grants have had a marked effect on the character of the American campus.

5. a large, usually suburban, landscaped business or industrial site.

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campus British  

/ ˈkæmpəs /

noun

1. the grounds and buildings of a university

2. the outside area of a college, university, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercampus
  adjective
• noncampus
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• campuses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of campus

1765–75, < Latin: flat place, field, plain

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Explanation

The land and various buildings that make up a college are its campus. If you live on campus, you'll be close to your classes. When you hear the word campus, you generally think of a college or university, which include libraries and labs and classrooms and dormitories, all of which make up a campus. Other institutions, including hospitals, high schools, and some companies' office buildings, also have campuses. The word campus is Latin for "a field" or "an expanse surrounded."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

campus campuses

Chief political correspondent Josh Dawsey went back to his alma mater, the University of South Carolina, where the campus is booming but many students he spoke with are uneasy about their own economic futures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

His answer to falling trust has been the Open Dialogue Project, which he launched in October 2025 to bring clashing views to campus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

If the University of South Carolina campus is indicative of anything, the next generation has deep skepticism about artificial intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

USC on Wednesday said Beong-Soo Kim, the interim campus president since June, would become president.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

She thrust a piece of paper under my nose, and I glanced down to see a detailed map of the campus.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

At many schools, sororities and fraternities provide much-needed housing and anchor social activity on campuses that may have few other options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The facility houses about 1,044 inmates, according to its website, a significantly smaller population than the one at Combs' previous facility, Fort Dix, of more than 4,200 inmates across two campuses.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Its restaurants remain closed on Sundays, including locations where that choice may seem commercially inconvenient like airports and college campuses.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

Survivors, students and advocates rallied and protested in communities and on college campuses across more than 40 states.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

It said that Governor Thomas Corbett had proposed that the state’s institutions of higher learning should consider closing their budget shortfalls by drilling for natural gas on their campuses.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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