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camp1

Pronunciation: /kamp/

Translate camp | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of camp

noun

  • 1a place with temporary accommodation of huts, tents, or other structures, typically used by soldiers, refugees, or travelling people.
  • a complex of buildings for holiday accommodation, with recreational facilities.
  • (also summer camp) North American a summer holiday programme for children, offering a range of activities: he became the dramatic counselor at camp
  • [mass noun] temporary overnight lodging in tents:we pitched camp at a fine spot
  • Archaeology, British an enclosed or fortified prehistoric site, especially an Iron Age hill fort.
  • 2the supporters of a particular party or doctrine regarded collectively:both the liberal and conservative camps were annoyed by his high-handed manner
  • 3South African a fenced field or enclosed area for grazing.
  • Australian/NZ a place where livestock regularly congregate or where a mustered herd is assembled.

verb

[no object]
  • 1live for a time in a tent, especially while on holiday:holiday parks in which you can camp or stay in a chalet
  • lodge temporarily, especially in an inappropriate or uncomfortable place:we camped out for the night in a mission schoolroom
  • remain persistently in one place:the press will be camping on your doorstep once they get on to this story
  • 2Australian/NZ (of livestock) assemble together for rest.
  • 3 [with object] South African divide (land) and enclose with fences.

Phrases

break camp

take down a tent or the tents of an encampment ready to leave.

Origin:

early 16th century: from French camp, champ, from Italian campo, from Latin campus 'level ground', specifically applied to the Campus Martius in Rome, used for games, athletic practice, and military drill

camp in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of camp in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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