say it: kam-PAYN
campaign is a noun and verb meaning "a race between candidates for elective office". It carries 7 recorded senses.
a race between candidates for elective office
“I managed his campaign for governor”
“he is raising money for a Senate run”
a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
“he supported populist campaigns”
“they worked in the cause of world peace”
“the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant”
“the movement to end slavery”
“contributed to the war effort”
several related operations aimed at achieving a particular goal (usually within geographical and temporal constraints)
military
an overland journey by hunters (especially in Africa)
Africa
run, stand, or compete for an office or a position
“Who's running for treasurer this year?”
exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for
“The liberal party pushed for reforms”
“She is crusading for women's rights”
“The Dean is pushing for his favorite candidate”
go on a campaign; go off to war
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for campaign come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.