Camp

/kæmp/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other simple structures.
  • Grammar: camp is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: bivouac, affected, american party, anchor.
  • Useful contrasts: uncamp, uncampy, authentic.
  • Usage evidence: We found it very hard going back to our base camp in the blizzard.

How to use "camp"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "camp" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "camp" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "camp" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "camp" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "camp" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "bivouac" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "camp", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other simple structures. countable, uncountable

    "Near-synonyms: campsite, campground, encampment"

  2. 2
    An affected, exaggerated, or intentionally tasteless style. uncountable

    "Near-synonyms: campness, campiness"

  3. 3
    The areas of the Falkland Islands situated outside the capital and largest settlement, Stanley. countable, slang, uncountable
  4. 4
    Initialism of cyclic AMP. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
  5. 5
    Abbreviation of continuous airworthiness maintenance program abbreviation, alt-of
Show 23 more definitions
  1. 6
    temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers wordnet
  2. 7
    An organised event, often taking place in tents or temporary accommodation. countable, uncountable

    "I met my best friend last summer at camp. She lives in Albany and plays the clarinet."

  3. 8
    An electoral constituency of the legislative assembly of the Falkland Islands that comprises all territory more than 3.5 miles from the spire of the Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    temporary lodgings in the country for travelers or vacationers wordnet
  5. 10
    A base of a military group, not necessarily temporary. countable, uncountable

    "Near-synonym: encampment"

  6. 11
    The pampas, which are the vast grassy areas situated in the rural areas beyond Argentine cities such as Buenos Aires. countable, slang, uncountable
  7. 12
    a penal institution (often for forced labor) wordnet
  8. 13
    A place of politically motivated confinement in outdoorsy conditions, usually also leading to slave labor and death. countable, uncountable

    "Near-synonyms: concentration camp, labor camp, reeducation camp, gulag, stalag, prison camp"

  9. 14
    a site where care and activities are provided for children during the summer months wordnet
  10. 15
    A single hut or shelter. countable, uncountable

    "a hunter’s camp"

  11. 16
    shelter for persons displaced by war or political oppression or for religious beliefs wordnet
  12. 17
    The company or body of persons encamped. countable, uncountable

    "The camp broke up with the confusion of a flight."

  13. 18
    something that is considered amusing not because of its originality but because of its unoriginality wordnet
  14. 19
    A group of people with the same strong ideals or political leanings. countable, uncountable

    "Near-synonyms: faction, ingroup"

  15. 20
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose wordnet
  16. 21
    An army. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "My Campe is like to Iulius Cæſars Hoſte, That neuer fought but had the victorie:"

  17. 22
    a group of people living together in a camp wordnet
  18. 23
    Clipping of campus abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncommon, uncountable
  19. 24
    Any prison or prison camp. countable, slang, uncountable

    "Lantana is a sweet camp. It's an old hospital that has been converted to a drug treatment center for prisoners."

  20. 25
    Misconstruction of clamp (“mound of earth in which potatoes and other vegetables are stored”). alt-of, countable, misconstruction, uncountable
  21. 26
    Anywhere that a colonist stayed when away from their permanent residence; such places collectively. British, India, countable, uncountable

    "Then the Rains came, when no one could go into camp, and the Narkarra Road was washed away by the Kasun River, and in the cup-like pastures of Kashima the cattle waded knee-deep."

  22. 27
    Conflict; battle. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  23. 28
    An online game, in some cases roleplay, in which people compete against each other, usually in a structure similar to that of a competition show. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To live in a tent or similar temporary accommodation.

    "We're planning to camp in the field until Sunday."

  2. 2
    To behave in a camp manner.

    "Oster and his two co-stars, Jamie MacKenzie and Bill Martel, boogie and bop, sway and swish, camp and croon through tightly worked production numbers addressing a range of serious (and not so serious) issues that middle class, urban gay men come up against."

  3. 3
    give an artificially banal or sexual quality to wordnet
  4. 4
    To set up a camp.
  5. 5
    establish or set up a camp wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    To afford rest or lodging for. transitive

    "Had our great palace the capacity / To camp this host, we all would sup together."

  2. 7
    live in or as if in a tent wordnet
  3. 8
    To stay in an advantageous location. intransitive

    "Some players like to camp next to a power-up's spawning point."

  4. 9
    To stay beside (something) to gain an advantage. transitive

    "The easiest way to win on this map is to camp the double damage."

  5. 10
    Ellipsis of corpse camp. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, transitive
  6. 11
    To fight; contend in battle or in any kind of contest; to strive with others in doing anything; compete. intransitive, obsolete

    "1562, Leigh, The Accedens of Armory ː Aristotle affirmeth that Rauens will gather together on sides, and campe and fight for victorie."

  7. 12
    To wrangle; argue. intransitive, obsolete
Adjective
  1. 1
    Theatrical; making exaggerated gestures.
  2. 2
    Ostentatiously flamboyant or effeminate.

    "More recently the word has become colloquial English for either implying that someone is a homosexual (‘he's very camp’), or for describing rather outre behaviour[…]"

  3. 3
    Intentionally tasteless or vulgar; self-parodying.

    "In Saturday Night Live, Madonna also unsurprisingly played Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, and a Joan Collins clone, all in a very camp way. As John Dean writes: “U.S. rock has a ruling camp queen with Madonna.”"

Adjective
  1. 1
    providing sophisticated amusement by virtue of having artificially (and vulgarly) mannered or banal or sentimental qualities wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A diminutive of the male given name Campbell. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    Acronym of Central Atlantic magmatic province. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
  3. 3
    A surname. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A placename; A village on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A placename; An unincorporated community in Pike County, Ohio, United States. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A placename; Ellipsis of Camp County abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
bivouacaffectedamerican partyanchoranti-monopoly partyarlequinade

Example

"We found it very hard going back to our base camp in the blizzard."

Common questions

What does "camp" mean?

An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other simple structures.

What is a synonym for "camp"?

Common synonyms include: bivouac, affected, american party, anchor, anti-monopoly party, arlequinade.

How do you use "camp" in a sentence?

We found it very hard going back to our base camp in the blizzard.

How do you pronounce "camp"?

Pronounced /kæmp/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English kampe (“battlefield, open space”), from Old English camp (“battle, contest, battlefield, open space”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamp (“open field where military exercises are held, level plain”), from Latin campus (“open field, level plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend; crooked”). Reinforced circa 1520 by Middle French can, camp (“place where an army lodges temporarily”), from Old Northern French camp, from the same Latin (whence also French champ from Old French). Cognate with Old High German champf (“battle, struggle”) (German Kampf), Old Norse kapp (“battle”), Old High German hamf (“paralysed, maimed, mutilated”). Doublet of campus and champ. The verb is from Middle English campen, from Old English campian, compian (“to fight, war against”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampōn (“to fight, do battle”), from *kamp (“field, battlefield, battle”), see above. Cognate with Dutch kampen, German kämpfen (“to struggle”), Danish kæmpe, Swedish kämpa.

Etymology 2

Unknown. Suggested origins include the 17th century French word camper (“to put oneself in a pose”), an assumed dialectal English word *camp or *kemp (“rough, uncouth”) and a derivation from camp (n.) Believed to be from Polari, otherwise obscure.

Etymology 3

From Spanish campo (“countryside”).

More for "camp"

Synonyms

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