camp

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈkamp 

often attributive

1

a

: a place usually away from urban areas where tents or simple buildings (such as cabins) are erected for shelter or for temporary residence (as for laborers, prisoners, or vacationers)

migrant labor camp

b

: a group of tents, cabins, or huts

fishing camps along the river

c

: a settlement newly sprung up in a lumbering or mining region

d

: a place usually in the country for recreation or instruction often during the summer

goes to camp every July

also : a program offering access to recreational or educational facilities for a limited period of time

computer camp

a resort offering boating and hiking camps

e

: a preseason training session for athletes

the star pitcher injured in camp this spring

2

a

: a body of persons encamped

b(1)

: a group of persons

especially : a group engaged in promoting or defending a theory, doctrine, position, or person

(2)

: an ideological position

3

: military service or life

camp

2 of 5

verb (1)

camped; camping; camps

intransitive verb

1

: to make camp or occupy a camp

2

: to live temporarily in a camp or outdoors

—often used with out

3

: to take up one's quarters : lodge

4

: to take up one's position : settle down

—often used with out

camp out in the library for the afternoon

transitive verb

: to put into a camp

also : accommodate

camp

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

a

: something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing

This version of the play is camp: outrageous in concept and wild in its execution with double entendres flying every which way.

b

: a style or mode of personal or creative expression that is absurdly exaggerated and often fuses elements of high and popular culture

a movie that celebrates camp

2

: exaggerated effeminate mannerisms (as of speech or gesture)

camp

4 of 5

adjective

: of, relating to, being, or displaying camp : campy

camp send-ups of the songs of the fifties and sixties

—John Elsom

camp

5 of 5

verb (2)

camped; camping; camps

intransitive verb

: to engage in camp : exhibit the qualities of camp

he … was camping, hands on hips, with a quick eye to notice every man who passed by

—R. M. McAlmon

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bivouac
• campground
• campsite
• encampment
• hutment

Verb (1)

• accommodate
• bestow
• billet
• bivouac
• board
• bunk
• chamber
• domicile
• encamp
• harbor
• house
• lodge
• put up
• quarter
• roof
• room
• shelter
• take in

Examples of camp in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the war forced people to flee their homes and to live in crowded camps along the border

a hunter's camp deep in the woods

years ago the wealthy industrialists built some rather grand camps along the lake

Verb (1)

some out-of-town delegates to the convention were camped in university dorms

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The killing is the 72nd homicide investigated by Oakland police this year, and the first since Sept. 28 when a 32-year-old man suffered fatal gunshot wounds at a homeless camp in the 600 block of 29th Street in West Oakland. —Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024

Border Patrol picks up a group of asylum-seekers from an aid camp at the U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe, Ariz., on March 13. —Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024

Verb

The group set up their tent, roasted hot dogs and played card games late into the night, while one friend’s dad camped nearby just in case. —New York Times, 4 Nov. 2024

Shoppers would camp outside of stores, eagerly awaiting the chance to bust down some doors and save a ton of cash. —Louryn Strampe, WIRED, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

earlier, "area, usually enclosed and fortified, occupied by elements of an army during a campaign or for training," borrowed from Middle French (earliest in lit de can "camp bed"), probably from Picard & Norman dialect camp "field" or Old Occitan can, camp "field, jousting lists, military camp," going back to Latin campus "flat expanse of land, plain, field," of uncertain origin

Note: The Latin word has been compared with *kamp-, a presumed substratal root evident in words denoting bends, curves, crookedness, etc. (see jamb). Analogy has been drawn to Greek ánkos "valley, glen" and ankýlos "bent, curved," ankṓn "elbow, bend," etc., though ánkos scarcely accords with the meaning "flat expanse of land."

Verb (1)

borrowed from Middle French camper "(of troops) to establish a camp," derivative of camp "area occupied by elements of an army, camp entry 1"

Noun (2)

origin uncertain

Note: The word camp as noun, adjective and verb (here camp entry 3, camp entry 4 and camp entry 5) all appear around the same time, at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century; hence it is difficult to determine which part of speech was primary and which derived. The word is almost certainly older, though the evidence is less direct. On October 22 and 23, 1874, newspapers in Manchester, England, reported on the judicial examination of three men apprehended the previous evening wearing women's clothing. One of the men, Francis Mack, was carrying a ticket on which was printed "Her Majesty Queen of Camp will hold a levee and grand bal-masque [i.e., bal masqué 'a masked ball'] on Wednesday, Oct. 21st, 1874." The men had been charged with vagrancy, but since there was no proof that they were vagrants, they were released, with stern admonishments by the judge on the foolishness of their behavior. (See full text and bibliographical references at Rictor Norton, editor, "Queen of Camp, 1874", Homosexuality in Nineteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook, at rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/1874camp.htm, accessed 10/23/2023.) Another piece of early evidence is the word campish, presumably "somewhat camp," which appears in a letter written on November 21, 1868, by William Frederick Park to Lord Arthur Clinton; the letter was produced and read to the court during a judicial examination of Park and Thomas on May 28, 1870, after both had been arrested wearing women's clothing. The letter reads "My 'campish undertakings' are not at present meeting with the success that they deserve; whatever I do seems to get me into hot water somewhere" (The Observer, May 29, 1870, p. 3). Nothing in the letter further elucidates the word. It has been suggested that camp in the lexicon of gay British men is somehow derived from camp entry 1, as denoting either the dash and bravado of military life or its permissiveness. The Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, avers that camp is probably borrowed from French se camper, glossed as "(colloquial) to assume a proud, bold, or provocative posture, to strike a pose (1671 in Molière)." Trésor de la langue française defines se camper, literally, "to establish a camp," as "often informal, dated to set oneself in a posture implying boldness, and sometimes bravado or cheekiness" ("souvent fam[ilier], vieilli. s'établir, s'installer dans une posture impliquant la hardiesse, parfois la bravade ou le sans-gêne"). This usage is derived from the literal sense of se camper "to establish a camp." The etymology is possible, but the lines of transmission that would lead from French to English are not clear. Paul Baker lists camp as both Polari (a lexicon used among gay men in Britain with roots in the argot of theatrical and circus performers) and general slang, a treatment also accorded to drag—see drag entry 3; see Fantabulosa : A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang (London, 2004), p. 93-94.

Adjective

perhaps derivative of camp entry 3

Note: See note at camp entry 3.

Verb (2)

perhaps derivative of camp entry 3

Note: See note at camp entry 3.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1528, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1543, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1909, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective

1909, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1910, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing camp

• aide-de-camp
• boot camp
• break camp
• camp bed
• camp follower
• camp it up
• camp meeting
• camp shirt
• concentration camp
• day camp
• death camp
• labor camp
• prison camp
• set up camp
• transit camp
• work camp

Kids Definition

camp

1 of 2 noun

ˈkamp 

1

a

: a place usually away from cities where tents or buildings are erected for shelter or for living in temporarily

b

: a group of tents, cabins, or huts

c

: a tent or cabin to be lived in temporarily (as during vacation)

d

: a place usually in the country for recreation or instruction often during the summer

summer camp

also : a program offering access to recreational or educational facilities for a limited period of time

a resort offering boating and hiking camps

computer camp

2

: a body of persons in a camp

camp

2 of 2 verb

1

: to make or occupy a camp

2

: to live in a camp or outdoors

camp out overnight

Medical Definition

cAMP

abbreviation

cyclic AMP

Biographical Definition

Camp

biographical name

ˈkamp 

Walter Chauncey 1859–1925 American football coach