campus
Americannoun
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the grounds, often including the buildings, of a college, university, or school.
-
a college or university.
The large influx of older students radically changed many campuses throughout the country.
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a division of a university that has its own grounds, buildings, and faculty but is administratively joined to the rest of the university.
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the world of higher education.
Foundation grants have had a marked effect on the character of the American campus.
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a large, usually suburban, landscaped business or industrial site.
noun
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the grounds and buildings of a university
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the outside area of a college, university, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of campus
1765–75, < Latin: flat place, field, plain
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."
Vocabulary lists containing campus
The Vocabulary of College
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 27–May 3, 2024
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The First State of Being
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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.
It is the brainchild of a company called Campus Guardian Angel, which has pilot programs using the technology in Georgia and Florida, with growing interest in Texas.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
The action comes as the university has invested about £75m in its new City Campus in Gloucester.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
“When I saw my face I was shocked,” says Rosie Lee Hooks, director of the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Mithril Defense is bringing its Campus Guardian Angel system to schools in Florida and Georgia to enhance security and reduce gun violence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
Most of the African-American students liked to live around Central Campus.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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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.