encampment

American  

[en-kamp-muhnt] / ɛnˈkæmp mənt /

noun

1. an act or instance of encamping; lodgment in a camp.

2. the place or quarters occupied in camping; camp.

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encampment British  

/ ɪnˈkæmpmənt /

noun

1. the act of setting up a camp

2. the place where a camp, esp a military camp, is set up

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Etymology

Origin of encampment

First recorded in 1590–1600; encamp + -ment

Explanation

An encampment is a temporary area made up of tents or other makeshift shelters set up by campers, soldiers, or people without permanent homes. An encampment can provide shelter, community, and a base of operations, whether for recreation, protest, or military purposes. Encampments may pop up when people are displaced by war, natural disasters, or other hardships. Sometimes people create an encampment at a music festival or during a protest so that there is a place to stay and rest without having to leave the area.

Example Sentences

Days later, sanitation workers cleared the encampment where he’d been living.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

Five men and two women were arrested on Sunday outside the main gate of Lakenheath airbase during a peace encampment against the Iran war, Suffolk Police said.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

He and his neighbors, many of them from a downtown encampment, were told that visitors were not allowed.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

Three days after that exchange, a man named Gregory Antone had been at the Quirky encampment, left, and returned.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Then, Samir hoisted the ablutionist’s body onto my back and told me to carry him as we left the encampment.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• campground
• campsite