campus
campus
Pronunciation
Campus: /ˈkæm.pəs/
Syllable 1: cam /kæm/
/k/ - voiceless velar stop
/æ/ - near-open front unrounded vowel
/m/ - voiced bilabial nasal
Syllable 2: pus /pəs/
/p/ - voiceless bilabial stop
/ə/ - schwa (mid-central vowel)
/s/ - voiceless alveolar fricative
Word Form Variations
Singular: campus
Plural: campuses
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
1. Definition: The grounds and buildings of a university, college, or other educational institution.
Synonyms: grounds, college grounds, university grounds, educational facility, academic institution, school
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms for this specific sense, as it refers to a physical place. One might consider "off-campus" or "remote" as conceptual opposites in certain contexts, but they aren't true antonyms of the noun itself.)
2. Definition: The student body and faculty of a university or college, considered as a community.
Synonyms: student body, faculty, academic community, university community, college community
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; similar to the first definition, this refers to a group within a specific context.)
3. Definition: A large industrial or corporate site, especially one with multiple buildings and landscaped grounds.
Synonyms: site, complex, park, headquarters (in some contexts), facility
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms, as it describes a type of commercial property.)
Examples of Use
Books:
"The novel vividly describes the intellectual and social ferment of a 1960s American campus, capturing the idealism and unrest of the era."
"She walked across the sprawling campus, a mix of modern and historic buildings, each holding decades of academic history."
Newspapers:
"Students across the country are returning to campuses this month, with many universities implementing new safety protocols." (The New York Times)
"The local newspaper reported on the proposed expansion of the tech company's campus, which would bring thousands of new jobs to the area." (San Jose Mercury News)
Online Publications:
"Google's sprawling Mountain View campus is renowned for its innovative design and employee amenities." (TechCrunch)
"Online forums buzzed with discussions about the new dining options available on campus for the upcoming semester." (Reddit r/college)
"A recent article on a travel blog highlighted the architectural beauty of several university campuses in Europe, recommending them as tourist destinations." (Lonely Planet, February 2025)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Film: In the movie The Social Network, many scenes depict Mark Zuckerberg and his friends on the Harvard campus, highlighting the early days of Facebook.
Television Series: "Gossip Girl" often features characters navigating the social hierarchies and events within a New York City prep school campus.
Video Games: The popular game "Two Point Hospital" allows players to design and manage a university, often referring to it as their "hospital campus."
Music: The song "College Days" by a popular indie band often evokes nostalgic feelings about life on a university campus.
Podcasts: A true-crime podcast recently investigated a decades-old mystery that took place on a secluded college campus, detailing the unsettling atmosphere.
General Public Discourse:
"My son is looking forward to living on campus next year; he wants the full college experience."
"There's a lot of debate on campus right now about the new parking regulations."
"The company announced it's building a new corporate campus on the outskirts of the city."
"During orientation, the guide stressed the importance of safety on campus after dark."
10 Quotes Using Campus
"I taught at Princeton for 39 years, and the school of architecture on the campus is the worst building on the campus." - Michael Graves
"On many American campuses the only qualification for admission was the ability actually to find the campus and then discover a parking space." - Malcolm Bradbury
"My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'blackness' than ever before. I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong." - Michelle Obama (Senior thesis, Princeton University, 1985)
"I find that the three major administrative problems on a campus are sex for the students, athletics for the alumni and parking for the faculty." - Clark Kerr
"I even lived on campus to get the college experience. I had five roommates and I still keep in touch with them while I'm on the road." - Tatyana Ali
"One afternoon, on my way to the campus - I was majoring in political science at Nairobi University - a photographer by the name of Peter Beard stopped me in the street and asked me if I'd ever been photographed." - Iman
"I was born in a University campus and seem to have lived all my life in one campus or another." - Amartya Sen
"You can't have a university without having free speech, even though at times it makes us terribly uncomfortable. If students are not going to hear controversial ideas on college campuses, they're not going to hear them in America." - Donna Shalala
"The minute I get a big head and start acting like the big man on campus, it's all downhill from there." - Scotty McCreery
"College campuses were once a hotbed of political activity." - Tom Ford
Etymology
The word "campus" comes from the Latin word "campus," which literally means "a flat piece of land," "a field," or "an open space."
Its first known use in English, with the meaning we primarily associate with it today – the grounds of a university or college – dates back to the early 18th century. Specifically, Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) is credited with being the first institution to use "campus" to refer to its entire grounds in 1739.
Before this, the term was generally used in a broader sense, simply meaning an open field or plain. The adoption by Princeton likely stemmed from the idea of the college being situated on an open field, and over time, it became the established term for the grounds of an educational institution. From Princeton, its use spread to other American colleges and then more broadly around the world.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Campus
On campus: Refers to being physically located within the grounds of a university or college. (e.g., "Students living on campus have access to all the facilities.")
Off campus: Refers to being located outside the physical grounds of a university or college. (e.g., "Many upper-year students choose to live off campus.")
Campus life: Refers to the social, academic, and extracurricular experiences and atmosphere of a university or college. (e.g., "She's really enjoying campus life, joining several clubs.")
Campus tour: A guided walk or visit to explore the grounds and facilities of a university or college. (e.g., "Before applying, we took a campus tour to see everything.")
Campus security: The department or personnel responsible for safety and law enforcement on
university or college grounds. (e.g., "Campus security responded quickly to the incident.")Campus newspaper: A student-run or university-published newspaper for the university or college community. (e.g., "The campus newspaper published an exposé on the student government.")
Big man/woman on campus: An informal term for a popular, influential, or highly respected student, often in athletics or social circles. (e.g., "After winning the championship, he was the big man on campus.")
Green campus: A term used to describe a university or college committed to environmental sustainability and eco-friendly practices. (e.g., "Our university is striving to become a green campus, reducing its carbon footprint.")
Corporate campus: Refers to the often sprawling, self-contained grounds and buildings of a large corporation. (e.g., "Apple's new corporate campus is an architectural marvel.")
Urban campus: A university or college located within a city, often integrated into the urban fabric rather than having distinct, separate grounds. (e.g., "Many city universities have an urban campus, utilizing existing city buildings.")
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of campus from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
