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Glite Dictionary
to break camp

to break camp

4 3.4
Pack your things and leave a camp at the end of your stay
  • phrasal verb
  • /breɪk kæmp/
translation icon : desmontar el campamento
  • We'll break camp as soon as it's daylight.
  • breaking camp in the morning
  • break camp early
  • break camp the next

And now we're looking back, discovering it and at the same time finding out about the people who may have broken camp and got in away.

Examples

  • The regiments broke camp and moved out.

    Love Me Tender (1956)

  • Time to eat and break camp.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • I think we should break camp.

    George and the Dragon (2004)

  • Yes, I thought you wanted to be breaking camp today?

    Champion (1949)

  • We broke camp and went in separate directions.

    Never Cry Wolf (1983)

  • We broke camp and set off for the motorway.

    Blog text (27)

  • We'll break camp at 0600.

    Strange Wilderness (2008)

  • At dawn, we broke camp, loaded the gear rafts, and put on our safety equipment.

    Academic text (2003)

  • But the next day, when the crowd of vacationers began to break camp with their baskets and noise boxes, he allowed himself to feel a ray of hope.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Every morning, we break camp and continue our hike along the trail.

Synonyms

to decamp
vsto break camp
4 8.5

To leave a place quickly and secretly to avoid being caught

is a routine packing up and leaving after a stay not secretive
to strike the tent
vsto break camp
  • Archaic
8.1

Take down a tent when leaving or ending an event

is about packing belongings and leaving a campsite at the end of a stay

Antonyms

to stay
∞ 1.0

To remain in one place and not leave

to camp
220 1.0

To stay in a tent or simple shelter outdoors

How Quickly

to decamp
4 8.5
to break camp
4 3.4
to leave
∞ 1.0
to stay
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

break camp infinitive
breaking camp present participle
breaks camp third person singular
broke camp past
broken camp past participle

Morphology

break + camp

The meaning is directly derivable from 'break' (to stop or interrupt) + 'camp' (a temporary place of stay): together they convey ending the camp — i.e., packing up and leaving. This follows a common English pattern of verb + noun meaning 'terminate/clear away X', so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Break camp comes from soldiers and campers who would take down their tents and poles, literally break the camp, when they were ready to move. That's why it means 'to pack up and leave a campsite'.