Camp vs. Compound: What's the Difference?
Edited by Harlon Moss || By Janet White || Updated on October 3, 2023
A camp is a place with temporary accommodations, often outdoors, while a compound is an enclosed area of buildings, often with a shared purpose or a chemical mixture.
Key Differences
A camp typically evokes imagery of tents, campfires, and nature, serving as a temporary accommodation for individuals or groups. On the contrary, a compound often refers to a group of buildings enclosed in a defined area, providing more permanence and security than a camp.
Many might think of summer camps for children or camping trips when picturing a camp. These are temporary, often recreational endeavors, situated amidst nature. On the other hand, when thinking of compounds, one might visualize military bases or large residences with multiple buildings within a protective boundary.
The origin of the word camp traces back to the Latin 'campus', meaning 'field'. It signifies open spaces where armies or travelers could set up temporary shelters. Conversely, compound, with roots in Malay 'kampong', denotes an enclosed area, reflecting its function as a secure space.
Camps, with their inherent transitory nature, cater to a variety of purposes – from refugee camps due to crises to artistic retreats for inspiration. In contrast, compounds, with their structured and enclosed nature, often house specific operations, be it research, military, or residential purposes.
Camps and compounds both offer shelter and a communal living aspect. However, while camps lean more towards the temporary and often recreational side, compounds emphasize permanence, security, and often a shared goal or purpose.
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Comparison Chart
Primary Definition
Temporary outdoor accommodation
Enclosed area containing a group of buildings
Part of Speech
Noun
Noun
Contexts of Use
Recreation, travel, temporary shelter
Security, permanent operation, chemistry
Etymology
From Latin 'campus' meaning 'field'
From Malay 'kampong' meaning enclosed area
Connotations
Temporary, nature, adventure
Secured, permanent, mixture
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Camp and Compound Definitions
Camp
Temporary accommodations for displaced individuals.
The refugee camp provides shelter for those fleeing conflict.
Compound
An enclosed area with multiple buildings.
The military compound was heavily guarded.
Camp
A stylized or exaggerated artistic or creative style.
His fashion sense is rather camp and theatrical.
Compound
A word formed from two or more words.
Playground is a compound word.
Camp
A place where tents, huts, or other temporary shelters are set up, as by soldiers, nomads, or travelers.
Compound
To combine so as to form a whole; mix
Tin was often compounded with lead to make pewter.
Camp
A cabin or shelter or group of such buildings
Gathered branches and grasses for a makeshift camp.
Had a fishing camp in Vermont.
Compound
To produce or create by combining two or more ingredients or parts; compose or make up
Pharmacists compounding prescriptions.
Camp
The people using such shelters
A howl that awakened the whole camp.
Compound
To settle (a debt, for example) by agreeing on an amount less than the claim; adjust.
Camp
A place, often in the country, that offers simple group accommodations and organized recreation or instruction, as for vacationing children
A girls' summer camp.
A tennis camp.
Compound
To compute (interest) on the principal and accrued interest.
Camp
(Sports) A place where athletes engage in intensive training, especially preseason training.
Compound
To add to or intensify so as to make worse
"The university authorities ... compounded their crime in dismissing [the professor] by denying that their action ... reflected any abridgment of academic freedom" (John Kenneth Galbraith).
Camp
The people attending the programs at such a place.
Compound
To make worse by being an additional or intensifying factor
High winds compounded the difficulties of the firefighters.
Camp
A program offering group instruction or recreation without overnight facilities.
Compound
To combine in or form a compound.
Camp
A prison camp or concentration camp.
Compound
To come to terms; agree.
Camp
Military service; army life.
Compound
Consisting of two or more substances, ingredients, elements, or parts.
Camp
A group of people who think alike or share a cause; side
The council members disagreed, falling into liberal and conservative camps.
Compound
(Botany) Composed of more than one part
A compound pistil.
Camp
Deliberate affectation or exaggeration of style, especially of popular or outdated style, for ironic or humorous effect
"Camp is popularity plus vulgarity plus innocence" (Indra Jahalani).
Compound
A combination of two or more elements or parts.
Camp
To make or set up a camp.
Compound
(Linguistics) A word that consists either of two or more elements that are independent words, such as loudspeaker, self-portrait, or high school, or of specially modified combining forms of words, such as Greek philosophia, from philo-, "loving," and sophia, "wisdom."
Camp
To live in or as if in a camp; settle
We camped in the apartment until the furniture arrived.
Compound
(Chemistry) A pure, macroscopically homogeneous substance consisting of atoms or ions of two or more different elements in definite proportions that cannot be separated by physical means. A compound usually has properties unlike those of its constituent elements.
Camp
To shelter or lodge in a camp; encamp
They camped themselves by a river.
Compound
A building or buildings, especially a residence or group of residences, set off and enclosed by a barrier.
Camp
To act in a histrionic or exaggerated manner.
Compound
An enclosed area used for confining prisoners of war.
Camp
To act in an exaggerated, effeminate manner.
Compound
An enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or soldiers are confined.
Camp
To exaggerate or overdramatize
Camped up the characters in the play.
Compound
An enclosure for secure storage.
Camp
Showing or characterized by camp
Played up the silliness of their roles for camp effect.
Compound
A group of buildings situated close together, e.g. for a school or block of offices.
Camp
Given to or characterized by exaggerated, effeminate mannerisms.
Compound
Anything made by combining several things.
Camp
An outdoor place acting as temporary accommodation in tents or other temporary structures.
Compound
(chemistry) A substance formed by chemical bonding of two or more elements in definite proportions by weight.
Camp
An organised event, often taking place in tents or temporary accommodation.
Compound
A substance made from any combination of ingredients.
Camp
A base of a military group, not necessarily temporary.
Compound
(linguistics) A lexeme that consists of more than one stem.
Camp
A single hut or shelter.
A hunter's camp
Compound
(linguistics) A lexeme that consists of more than one stem or an affix, e.g. bookshop, high school or non-standard.
Camp
The company or body of persons encamped.
Compound
(rail) A compound locomotive, a steam locomotive with both high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders.
Camp
A group of people with the same strong ideals or political leanings.
Compound
Composed of elements; not simple.
A compound word
Camp
(obsolete) An army.
Compound
(math) Dealing with numbers of various denominations of quantity, or with processes more complex than the simple process.
Compound addition
Compound proportion
Camp
(uncommon) Campus
Compound
(music) An octave higher than originally (i.e. a compound major second is equivalent to a major ninth).
Camp
(informal) A summer camp.
Compound
(transitive) To form (a resulting mixture) by combining different elements, ingredients, or parts; to mingle with something else.
To compound a medicine
Camp
(prison slang) A prison.
Compound
To settle by agreeing on less than the claim, or on different terms than those stipulated.
To compound a debt
Camp
(agriculture) A mound of earth in which potatoes and other vegetables are stored for protection against frost
Compound
(transitive) To settle amicably; to adjust by agreement.
Camp
(obsolete) Conflict; battle.
Compound
(intransitive) To come to terms of agreement; to settle by a compromise.
To compound with someone / for something
Camp
An affected, exaggerated or intentionally tasteless style.
Compound
To compose; to constitute.
Camp
The areas of the Falkland Islands situated outside the capital and largest settlement, Stanley.
Compound
To increase in value with interest, where the interest is earned on both the principal sum and prior earned interest.
Camp
An electoral constituency of the legislative assembly of the Falkland Islands that composes of all territory more than 3.5 miles from the spire of the Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley.
Compound
To worsen a situation.
Camp
To live in a tent or similar temporary accommodation.
We're planning to camp in the field until Sunday.
Compound
Of a horse: to fail to maintain speed.
Camp
To set up a camp.
Compound
In the East Indies, an inclosure containing a house, outbuildings, etc.
Camp
(transitive) To afford rest or lodging for.
Compound
That which is compounded or formed by the union or mixture of elements ingredients, or parts; a combination of simples; a compound word; the result of composition.
Rare compound of oddity, frolic, and fun.
When the word "bishopric" was first made, it was made as a compound.
Camp
To stay in an advantageous location.
Some players like to camp next to a power-up's spawning point.
Compound
A union of two or more ingredients in definite proportions by weight, so combined as to form a distinct substance; as, water is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen.
Camp
To stay beside (something) to gain an advantage.
The easiest way to win on this map is to camp the double damage.
Go and camp the flag for the win.
Compound
To form or make by combining different elements, ingredients, or parts; as, to compound a medicine.
Incapacitating him from successfully compounding a tale of this sort.
Camp
To fight; contend in battle or in any kind of contest; to strive with others in doing anything; compete.
Compound
To put together, as elements, ingredients, or parts, in order to form a whole; to combine, mix, or unite.
We have the power of altering and compounding those images into all the varieties of picture.
Camp
To wrangle; argue.
Compound
To modify or change by combination with some other thing or part; to mingle with something else.
Only compound me with forgotten dust.
Camp
Theatrical; making exaggerated gestures.
Compound
To compose; to constitute.
His pomp and all what state compounds.
Camp
Ostentatiously effeminate.
Compound
To settle amicably; to adjust by agreement; to compromise; to discharge from obligation upon terms different from those which were stipulated; as, to compound a debt.
I pray, my lords, let me compound this strife.
Camp
Intentionally tasteless or vulgar, self-parodying.
Compound
To effect a composition; to come to terms of agreement; to agree; to settle by a compromise; - usually followed by with before the person participating, and for before the thing compounded or the consideration.
Here's a fellow will help you to-morrow; . . . compound with him by the year.
They were at last glad to compound for his bare commitment to the Tower.
Cornwall compounded to furnish ten oxen after Michaelmas for thirty pounds.
Compound for sins they are inclined toBy damning those they have no mind to.
Camp
The ground or spot on which tents, huts, etc., are erected for shelter, as for an army or for lumbermen, etc.
Compound
Composed of two or more elements, ingredients, parts; produced by the union of several ingredients, parts, or things; composite; as, a compound word.
Compound substances are made up of two or more simple substances.
Camp
A collection of tents, huts, etc., for shelter, commonly arranged in an orderly manner.
Forming a camp in the neighborhood of Boston.
Compound
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight
Camp
A single hut or shelter; as, a hunter's camp.
Compound
A whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts
Camp
The company or body of persons encamped, as of soldiers, of surveyors, of lumbermen, etc.
The camp broke up with the confusion of a flight.
Compound
An enclosure of residences and other building (especially in the Orient)
Camp
A mound of earth in which potatoes and other vegetables are stored for protection against frost; - called also burrow and pie.
Compound
Make more intense, stronger, or more marked;
The efforts were intensified
Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her
Potsmokers claim it heightens their awareness
This event only deepened my convictions
Camp
An ancient game of football, played in some parts of England.
Compound
Put or add together;
Combine resources
Camp
To afford rest or lodging for, as an army or travelers.
Had our great palace the capacityTo camp this host, we all would sup together.
Compound
Calculate principal and interest
Camp
To pitch or prepare a camp; to encamp; to lodge in a camp; - often with out.
They camped out at night, under the stars.
Compound
Create by mixing or combining
Camp
To play the game called camp.
Compound
Combine so as to form a whole; mix;
Compound the ingredients
Camp
Temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers;
Wherever he went in the camp the men were grumbling
Compound
Of leaf shapes; of leaves composed of several similar parts or lobes
Camp
A group of people living together in a camp;
The whole camp laughed at his mistake
Compound
Consisting of two or more substances or ingredients or elements or parts;
Soap is a compound substance
Housetop is a compound word
A blackberry is a compound fruit
Camp
Temporary lodgings in the country for travelers or vacationers;
Level ground is best for parking and camp areas
Compound
Composed of many distinct individuals united to form a whole or colony;
Coral is a colonial organism
Camp
An exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
Compound
A mixture of two or more elements or ingredients.
Water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen.
Camp
A prison for forced laborers;
China has many work camps for political prisoners
Compound
To increase or intensify.
Late fees will compound if not paid on time.
Camp
Something that is considered amusing not because of its originality but because of its unoriginality;
The livingroom was pure camp
Compound
A substance used for a specific purpose.
She applied a medicinal compound to the wound.
Camp
Shelter for persons displaced by war or political oppression or for religious beliefs
Camp
A site where care and activities are provided for children during the summer months;
City kids get to see the country at a summer camp
Camp
Live in or as if in a tent;
Can we go camping again this summer?
The circus tented near the town
The houseguests had to camp in the living room
Camp
Establish or set up a camp
Camp
Give an artificially banal or sexual quality to
Camp
Providing sophisticated amusement by virtue of having artificially (and vulgarly) mannered or banal or sentimental qualities;
They played up the silliness of their roles for camp effect
Campy Hollywood musicals of the 1940's
Camp
A place for temporary lodging in tents or simple buildings.
We set up our camp near the lakeside.
Camp
A recreational summer retreat for children.
She's excited to attend the art camp next month.
Camp
A group supporting a specific idea or individual.
He belongs to the conservative camp in politics.
FAQs
Do all camps involve nature and adventure?
Not necessarily. Camps can be thematic, like tech or art camps, held indoors.
What does a chemical compound refer to?
It denotes a substance formed from two or more chemical elements.
Can you set up a camp in any public place?
No, camping regulations depend on the region and the property's nature.
What typically comprises a camping setup?
A camp usually has tents, campfires, and basic amenities.
Is a compound always a secure area?
While many compounds are secure, it primarily denotes an enclosed area with buildings.
Is camping only a summer activity?
No, camping can occur year-round, depending on the region and purpose.
Can a compound be residential?
Yes, compounds can be residential areas with multiple houses enclosed together.
What's a base camp in mountaineering?
It's the primary camp from which climbers start their ascent and return.
Are compounds common in certain countries or cultures?
Yes, compounds are prevalent in areas where security or communal living is emphasized.
Can a camp be indoors?
Though generally associated with outdoors, "camp" can also refer to temporary indoor accommodations.
Is the compound in chemistry the same as in real estate?
No, in chemistry, it's about mixed elements, while in real estate, it refers to enclosed buildings.
What is a boot camp in fitness?
It's a rigorous training program emphasizing intense exercises.
Can compounds have recreational facilities?
Yes, some residential or resort compounds offer pools, gyms, and other amenities.
Is a compound's primary purpose protection?
Often, but not always. It denotes an enclosed space, which can be for security, community, or other reasons.
Can a camp be permanent?
Generally, camps are temporary, but some can exist longer based on their purpose.
What are compounds used for in medicine?
Medicinal compounds are mixtures used to treat, heal, or alleviate symptoms.
Is camping safe in wildlife areas?
It can be, but it's crucial to take precautions and be informed about local wildlife.
What is the primary difference between camp and compound?
A camp is a temporary accommodation, often outdoors, while a compound is an enclosed area of buildings with a shared purpose.
How is a compound word different from other words?
Compound words are formed by combining two or more separate words.
Why is camp sometimes used in the context of fashion?
"Camp" can mean exaggerated or theatrical, as seen in certain fashion styles.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
