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Showing results for encampment. Search instead for encumberment.
Synonyms

encampment

American  
[en-kamp-muhnt] / ɛnˈkæmp mənt /

noun

  1. an act or instance of encamping; lodgment in a camp.

  2. the place or quarters occupied in camping; camp.


encampment British  
/ ɪnˈkæmpmənt /

noun

  1. the act of setting up a camp

  2. the place where a camp, esp a military camp, is set up

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of encampment

First recorded in 1590–1600; encamp + -ment

Explanation

An encampment is a temporary area made up of tents or other makeshift shelters set up by campers, soldiers, or people without permanent homes. An encampment can provide shelter, community, and a base of operations, whether for recreation, protest, or military purposes. Encampments may pop up when people are displaced by war, natural disasters, or other hardships. Sometimes people create an encampment at a music festival or during a protest so that there is a place to stay and rest without having to leave the area.

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Vocabulary lists containing encampment

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:

The emergency order allows providing notice to take place the same day as an encampment is cleared.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 14, 2026

By the fourth quarter of 2025, 80% of Inside Safe encampment operations — 36 out of 45 — involved areas that had repopulated, records show.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 9, 2026

For a few hours, the encampment comes alive again.

From BBC Aug. 7, 2026

As at other universities, the student protesters built an encampment.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 29, 2026

As usual he walked the horse through the British encampment, through the idle men, stacked muskets, military stores, camp kitchens.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

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