base camp

noun

variants or less commonly basecamp

ˈbās-ˌkamp 

plural base camps also basecamps

: a place that serves as the starting point or staging area for an expedition or endeavor and that is usually equipped with shelter and supplies

… he set up a base camp, and went off to work in the mountains.

—John McPhee

I arrived at Denali's base camp, Kahiltna, on June 2. This is where I began my climb.

—Merrick Johnston

Making my base camp on a small island, I followed the pods … and collected dozens of tapes of their underwater vocal exchanges …

—John K. B. Ford

Southern California Edison is using the entire north parking lot as its basecamp to restore power to those in the affected areas.

—The Associated Press

Examples of base camp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After reading the script, watching the documentary, and meeting Peedom, Hiddleston signed up for the project, which led him to climb to Everest’s base camp alongside the director, Phuntsok, and a high-altitude medical specialist. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026

If Curry Village is on your Yosemite itinerary — for the canvas tent cabins, the shower house after a long day on the trail or a base camp for Half Dome — there’s a piece of health news worth folding into your trip planning. — The Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026

The Chancery Rosewood The ultimate experience for any trip to London, The Chancery Rosewood makes a strong case as base camp for LFW. — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026

In the northern Chinese area of Yan’an, where Mao and his followers set up a wartime base camp starting in the mid-1930s, leaders turned rectification into doctrine. — Andrew Mertha, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above