champaign
noun
level, open country; plain.
champaign
1 American
[sham-peyn]
/ ʃæmˈpeɪn /
noun
-
level, open country; plain.
-
Obsolete. a battlefield.
adjective
Champaign
2
American
[sham-peyn]
/ ʃæmˈpeɪn /
noun
champaign
British
/ ʃæmˈpeɪn /
noun
-
Also called: campagna. an expanse of open level or gently undulating country
-
an obsolete word for battlefield
Etymology
Origin of champaign
1350–1400; Middle English champai ( g ) ne < Middle French champa ( i ) gne < Latin campānia; see campaign
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.
See Examples For:
I have a roster of great wines that start around $7 or $8 and go to $13 -- my limit, unless it's champaign.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2017
The newly engaged couple appeared on Fox 5’s “Good Day DC” Monday morning, where the staff feted them with cake and champaign.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 2, 2015
In November came the U.S. invasion of North Africa and a sudden, inordinate drain on Eastern oil stocks; as the North African champaign became more complicated, the drain increased.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dr. Stubbs says that the park was thrown into its present champaign form, laid out, and planted in the year 1722, as appears from “Winstanley’s Poems,” vol. i., p.
From The Commercial Restraints of Ireland by Hutchinson, John Hely
For as that signifieth a woody soil, so this betokeneth a soil without wood, or plain champaign country, without any store of trees, as may be seen in Cotswold, Porkwold, etc.
From Elizabethan England From 'A Description of England,' by William Harrison by Harrison, William
Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign have uncovered evidence that could reshape how researchers think about both the brain and artificial intelligence.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
But most importantly: that ideal player came from somewhere 5,000 miles away from Champaign, Ill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
The Bruins will next travel to Champaign, Ill., to compete in the Big Ten Conference championship meet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
Two bars, both alike in dignity, in fair Champaign, Illinois, where we lay our scene.
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2025
On March 5, 1861, I saw Lincoln and requested him to appoint Jim Somers of Champaign to a small clerkship.
From The Life of Lyman Trumbull by White, Horace
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.
