camp out

camp out

1. To sleep outside recreationally; to camp, typically with a sleeping bag and tent. My little brother really wants to camp out for his birthday, so we're going to set up a tent in our back yard for him. I love hiking and camping out, but my boyfriend is not very outdoorsy. I have no interest in camping out, honestly. I'd much rather stay in a hotel.

2. To live in a place other than one home's temporarily, often in conditions that are not ideal. I'm camping out in my aunt's basement until I can move into my new apartment, so my roommates right now are a washer and dryer—and a few bugs. You're welcome to camp out in our attic for a few days while they fumigate your apartment. There was a gap between when my old lease was up and my new one started, so I had to camp out at my grandmother's for a bit.

See also: camp, out

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

camp out

to live out of doors temporarily in a tent or camping vehicle, as on a vacation or special camping trip. I love to camp out in the winter.

See also: camp, out

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

camp out

Sleep outdoors; also, stay somewhere for an unusually long time. For example, "We camped out in a field this night" (George Washington, Journal, March 18, 1748). In the early 1900s, the expression was extended to figurative uses, meaning simply "to stay somewhere for an unusually long time," as in She camped out at the stage door, hoping for an autograph.

See also: camp, out

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

camp out

v.

1. To sleep outdoors, usually in a tent: If the weather is nice, we should camp out on the mountain.

2. To reside at some place temporarily, especially under difficult conditions: I had to camp out in my cousin's living room until I found an apartment of my own.

See also: camp, out

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.