campus

campus — noun

1. The land and buildings where a school or university carries out its activities,

1.nounB2
Definition

The land and buildings where a school or university carries out its activities, including lecture halls, dormitories, sports fields, and walkways.

Example

The new library on the northern side of campus opened to students last Monday.

set phrase 'on campus' — no article needed

Leila walked across the main campus from the science building to the dining hall.

Common collocations
  • main campus
  • entire campus
  • university campus
  • college campus
  • campus life
  • campus security
  • visit a campus
  • live on campus
  • walk across campus
  • campus tour
Synonyms
  • grounds

    broader; can refer to land around any building, not just schools

  • site

    more general; refers to a location without implying buildings or institutions

  • premises

    more formal; used for business or institutional property including buildings

Grammar Patterns

on campus

off campus

across campus

campus + noun (campus life, campus security)

Usage Note

Frequently used without an article in the fixed phrases 'on campus', 'off campus', and 'across campus'. In all other contexts, 'campus' is a countable noun: 'a large campus', 'both campuses'. A common learner error is inserting 'the' in the fixed expressions.

Common Mistakes

I met her on the campus yesterday.
I met her on campus yesterday.
The phrases 'on campus' and 'off campus' are fixed expressions that do not take the article 'the'.
Idioms

on campus

idiom

Located or happening within the grounds and buildings of a college or university; used without any article before 'campus'.

Most first-year students live on campus in shared dormitories.

There are three coffee shops on campus within walking distance of the library.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all four words can refer to a defined area with buildings, 'campus' is specifically tied to educational institutions and often implies an integrated community with academic, residential, and recreational facilities. 'Grounds' is broader, referring to the land around any large building or institution, such as hospital grounds or palace grounds. 'Site' is the most general — it can mean any location where something is or will be built, often without implying existing structures. 'Premises' is more formal and legal, used for the buildings and land of a business or organization, as in 'the company's premises.' 'Compound' suggests a secured, enclosed area, often for military, government, or industrial use. You would visit a friend 'on campus' but go 'to the hospital grounds' or 'report to the office premises.'

groundssite ↗premisescompound ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • on campus
  • off campus
  • main campus
  • entire campus
  • campus tour

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Comes from Latin 'campus' meaning 'field' or 'open plain'. The word first began to be used for the grounds of a university at Princeton University in the late 1700s, and later spread to describe the grounds of any college or school.