NYT Dictionary

CAMP

/ˈkeə̯mp/
NounVerbAdjectiveCAMPcamp · 1 syllableGrade 3

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

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

Etymology

Origin: Old English

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.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

campsitecampgroundencampmentconcentration camplabor campreeducation campgulagstalagprison campfaction

Antonyms

uncampuncampy

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 6 recorded puzzles:

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