summer camp

noun

plural summer camps

1

: a camp (see camp entry 1 sense 1d) for children or adolescents that operates during the summer and that often provides lodging for stays of days or weeks

… traditional summer camps—where your child rides a horse, paddles a canoe, reads a compass, and roasts s'mores around a campfire …

—David Lansing

… summer camp is about campfires, trail hikes and goofy skits. It's a chance to meet kids from different cities and to learn to sleep through the snores of cabin mates.

—Emily Seftel

also : such a camp that provides instruction of a specified kind

went to an arts summer camp

compare day camp

2

: an online usually educational program for children or adolescents offered during the summer

… a virtual summer camp offering free classes in everything from slime-making to dinosaurs to make-your-own Lego movies. Kids aged five through 18 can create their own schedule, with hour-long classes five days a week for each session.

—Lisa Milbrand

Examples of summer camp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Backers of the measure say the parks department provides an essential safety net for the city’s low-income residents, offering summer camps, sports activities and senior programs for free or at reduced prices. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

In her place was the young girl who first stepped onto a diving board at a summer camp in Italy nearly 15 years ago. — Bella Armstrong, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026

Co-writers Lustig and Roth were born in the same Toronto maternity ward on either side of midnight and grew up together at summer camp and have been best friends for decades. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026

The program has grown in three years from a summer camp for eight youngsters to year-round classes for about 20 people. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for summer camp

• firedamp
• amp
• champ
• clamp
• cramp
• damp
• gamp
• lamp
• ramp
• samp
• scamp
• stamp