: any of three large ruminant (see ruminantentry 1) mammals (genus Camelus) that have one or two large humps of stored fat on the back and are used as draft and saddle animals in desert regions especially of Africa and Asia:
a
: the one-humped camel (C. dromedarius) extant only as a domestic or feral animal : dromedary
b
: the 2-humped camels (C. bactrianus and C. ferus) of desert and steppe regions of northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia : bactrian camel
2
: a watertight structure used especially to lift submerged ships
"… So we're going to look for more luxury fabrics—cashmere, camel, alpaca and … lambswools."—Paul Diamond
—usually used before another noun
a genuine camel coat
b
: leather made from the skin of a camel
They all have four-digit price tags and are crafted from luxe leathers like buffalo, calfskin and camel.—Georgina Safe
—usually used before another noun
camel leather
Illustration of camel
1 dromedary
2 Bactrian camel
Examples of camel in a Sentence
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Reckoning that nearly broke the camel's literal back.—EW.com, 19 Aug. 2025 With the camel’s back broken, Dorothy Scott, summoning all her righteous indignation (and channeled with maybe one-third of Audra McDonald’s extraordinary talent, which is still enough to power the city of Manhattan), lets the snobby scold have it.—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2025 Having trained thousands of teachers, setting up schools in slum areas and in addition, publishing its very own children’s books, the non-profit persists to spearhead outreach programs where books are taken to Pakistani children on the backs of camels and yaks, in boats and rickshaws.—Sonya Rehman, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025 Over 50 animals, including horses, camels and a zebra, were rescued from a Rio Verde property with no food or water.—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 3 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for camel
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Old English & Anglo-French, from Latin camelus, from Greek kamēlos, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew gāmāl camel
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of camel was
before the 12th century
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