decamp

American  

[dih-kamp] / dɪˈkæmp /

verb (used without object)

• decamps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• decamped,
  past participle,  past
• decamping
  present participle

1. to depart from a camp; to pack up equipment and leave a camping ground.

   We decamped before the rain began.

2. to depart quickly, secretly, or unceremoniously.

   The band of thieves decamped in the night.

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decamp British  

/ dɪˈkæmp /

verb

1. to leave a camp; break camp

2. to depart secretly or suddenly; abscond

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• decampment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• decamping
  present
• decamped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• decamp
  simple
• decamps
  simple
• have decamped
  perfect
• has decamped
  perfect
• am decamping
  progressive
• are decamping
  progressive
• is decamping
  progressive
• have been decamping
  perfect progressive
• has been decamping
  perfect progressive

Past

• decamped
  simple
• had decamped
  perfect
• was decamping
  progressive
• were decamping
  progressive
• had been decamping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will decamp
  simple
• will have decamped
  perfect
• will be decamping
  progressive
• will have been decamping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of decamp

1670–80; < French décamper, equivalent to dé- dis- ¹ + camper to encamp; see camp ¹

Explanation

When you decamp, you leave or depart very suddenly, or in secret. If your rent in Brooklyn keeps going up, you may decide to decamp to New Jersey. Use the verb decamp when people scram — especially when they relocate a household or a business to a new location. You'll probably be disappointed when your favorite pizza place decamps to another neighborhood, or if your best friend's family decamps to Canada. The word was originally a military term, literally meaning "leave camp," from the French décamper, from des-, "apart or away," and camp, "open space for military exercises."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decamp decamps decamped decamping

Then, of course, there is the added perk of the private beach, a rare draw in an area where Manhattanites regularly decamp during the warmer summer months.

From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026

That’s doubtful given that it has already spurred many billionaires to decamp.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Barron’s Karishma Vanjani writes that overseas investors’ desire to decamp from Treasuries is already a concern.

From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026

In mid-December, video reviewed by The Times showed dozens of troops under Trump’s command quietly leaving the Roybal Federal Building downtown in the middle of the night following an appellate court’s order to decamp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025

The principal spoke with such gravity that Christine and her classmates worried they might have to pack up their books and decamp for the other side of town at that very moment.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Exhibit A: the band decamps to New Orleans to record their next record.

From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026

And I’ve spent the last two Sundances readying to let this town go when the festival decamps for Boulder, Colo., in 2027.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

The London displays wrap up on Tuesday, when the fashion crowd decamps to Milan Fashion Week for more new season runway shows.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2023

Ayush goes for a kingside break, but after White’s king decamps for the queenside, it is the Black king who comes under fire.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 22, 2022

The lord of the harem, in the meantime, hastens to the scene of the disturbance, whereupon the other bull decamps.

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Sir Douglas Mawson

Back at his building, Sillie says, the Venezuelan rescue contingent soon decamped.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Last year she decamped to a famous cram center in her home state of Rajasthan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

In nearby Habana Vieja, the historic city center, nine families who decamped from a collapsed building three years ago are still living in a boxing gym.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

People familiar with Berkshire’s investments said Abel has already unloaded the stocks managed by Todd Combs, who recently decamped for JPMorgan Chase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

At the semester break every spring when Oppenheimer decamped for Caltech, the entourage followed him south in a caravan of rickety vehicles.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Instead of decamping to Thibodaux, La., for football’s most exclusive family reunion, Mendoza—a transfer from the University of California—spent his summer in Bloomington, obsessively learning the playbook of his new coach, Curt Cignetti.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2025

He had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lay the groundwork for the summit with the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov; to make sure there was a point in decamping to Budapest.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025

For generations, Mexican immigrants have landed in this area before decamping to Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024

Phil’s beloved music and artistic director isn’t decamping for the New York Philharmonic for another two years, and the Bowl intends to take full advantage of his commanding presence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

How delighted would Bismarck and William be if they saw us decamping!

From The Pl?biscite or, A Miller's Story of the War by Alexandre Chatrian