Meaning & use
camp out
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To sleep outdoors, usually in a tent or sleeping bag, especially for a night or longer.
Grammar: No object; it is a phrasal verb, so the two words stay together and nothing goes between them.
Patterns
- camp out in something
- camp out for a night
- camp out overnight
We camped out in the woods behind the farm.
They camp out every summer near the lake.
The kids wanted to camp out in the yard.
verbintransitiveinformal
To stay somewhere for a long time, often outside, while waiting for something.
Grammar: No object; often followed by for or outside: camp out for tickets.
Patterns
- camp out for something
- camp out outside somewhere
- camp out overnight for something
Fans camped out for two days to get concert tickets.
People camp out overnight for the best deals.
nouncountable
An occasion or trip when people sleep outdoors in tents.
Grammar: Usually written as two words; the plural is camp-outs.
Patterns
- a camp out
- go on a camp out
The school organized a camp out for the older students.
Our camp out was ruined by rain.
Common combinations
- camp out overnight
- We camped out overnight by the river.
- camp out in the backyard
- The children camped out in the backyard.
- camp out for tickets
- Hundreds camped out for tickets to the final.
- go camping
- We go camping in the mountains each fall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sleep outdoors
- A plain description rather than a fixed phrase; use it when you do not mean tents specifically.
- bivouac
- A more technical or military word for sleeping outside with minimal shelter.
Word family
Commonly confused: camp out or campground?
camp out vs campground
A campground is the place with pitches for tents; camp out is the activity of staying there.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'camp out' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Camp out' takes no object and is followed by a place phrase with 'in': camped out in the field. Option 0 wrongly adds an object, and options 2 and 3 use the wrong preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “camp out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.