camel

camel — noun

1. a big animal with a very long neck and either one or two rounded fatty bumps on

1.nounB1
Definition

a big animal with a very long neck and either one or two rounded fatty bumps on the top of its body, often kept as a way to travel or move supplies through hot, dry deserts.

Example

Aiko watched the camel drink water after a long walk across the desert.

countable noun; concrete scene with desert context

The farmer loaded boxes of fruit onto the back of his camel.

used for carrying goods

Common collocations
  • desert camel
  • camel ride
  • camel train
  • camel hair
Synonyms
  • dromedary

    a one-humped camel, faster and found in North Africa and the Middle East

Usage Note

Use a (Bactrian) camel for two humps and a dromedary (or Arabian camel) for one hump. In everyday speech, camel covers both types.

Common Mistakes

A camel have a hump.
A camel has a hump.
camel is singular; the verb must agree (has, not have).

2. a warm fabric that is light brown in colour and has a soft, furry feel, made fro

2.nounC1
Definition

a warm fabric that is light brown in colour and has a soft, furry feel, made from camel hair or a mix of camel hair and sheep's wool, typically sewn into winter coats and jackets.

Example

Leila bought a heavy camel coat for the cold winter months ahead.

collocation: camel coat

The tailor recommended camel because it is soft and keeps you warm.

uncountable; used as fabric name

Common collocations
  • camel coat
  • camel jacket
  • camel hair
  • made of camel

Usage Note

This uncountable noun names the cloth itself ('a coat made of camel'), not an adjective describing colour. The colour sense is usually expressed as 'camel-coloured' or simply 'camel' as an adjective in fashion contexts.

Common Mistakes

I wore a camel jacket' (meaning the animal is on the jacket).
I wore a camel-hair jacket.
use 'camel hair' or 'camel-coloured' to avoid ambiguity with the animal.
Idioms

the straw that breaks the camel's back

idiom

the last small problem or annoyance that makes you finally lose patience or give up, after many others before it.

The leaky roof was the straw that broke the camel's back, so Priya decided to move out.

When the bus was late again, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Tomás.

Word family

  • camel hair
    nounC1
  • dromedary
    nounC1
  • Bactrian
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Camel is the general term for large, humped desert animals used for transport. A dromedary (also called an Arabian camel) has one hump and lives in the hot deserts of Africa and the Middle East. A Bactrian camel has two humps and lives in the colder deserts of Central and East Asia. Llamas are a different animal altogether: they are smaller, humpless, and come from South America, used mainly for carrying light loads. If you say 'camel', most people picture the animal with humps; if you need to be precise about which kind, use dromedary or Bactrian. For example: 'We rode a dromedary across the Sahara' versus 'The Bactrian camels wore thick winter coats in the Mongolian steppe.'

camel ↗dromedaryBactrian camelllama

Common collocations

Nouns

  • camel rider
  • camel driver
  • camel race
  • camel farm
  • camel milk
  • camel wool
  • camel train

Phrases

  • a herd of camels
  • a caravan of camels

Prepositions

  • on a camel
  • by camel

Etymology

Semitic (Hebrew/Arabic)GreekLatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word camel comes from the Greek kamēlos, which was borrowed from a Semitic source, likely Hebrew gāmāl or Arabic jamal. It entered English through Latin (camelus) and Old French (camel) around the 13th century. The animal has been known to Europeans for thousands of years through trade and travel routes across North Africa and the Middle East.