Definition

1. Noun:
   • A follower who is not a member of an ingroup: A person who associates with or supports a group, movement, or organization without being a full, official, or committed member. This often implies a lack of genuine allegiance or a tendency to follow popular trends.
   • A prostitute who provides service to military personnel: Historically, a sex worker who travels with or near an army camp to offer services to soldiers.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Non-member follower):

  • He was never a true activist, just a camp follower of the political movement.
  • The brand attracted many camp followers who were more interested in the trend than the product's philosophy.

• Noun (Historical context):

  • In the 18th century, armies on the move were often accompanied by camp followers, including laundresses and traders.
  • The general issued orders to regulate the behavior of the camp followers near the barracks.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used pejoratively to describe someone whose support is seen as superficial, opportunistic, or lacking in depth.
  • Critics dismissed the new supporters as mere camp followers, jumping on a bandwagon.
• In historical and military writing, the term can have a neutral, descriptive sense referring to the non-combatants (e.g., families, merchants, service providers) who accompanied armies.

Variants and Related Words

• Follower (n): A person who supports and admires a particular person, group, or set of ideas.
• Hanger-on (n): A person who associates with another person or group in a subordinate or unproductive capacity, especially for personal gain.
• Sutler (n): A historical term for a merchant who sold provisions to an army in the field or camp.

Synonyms

• Hanger-on
• Opportunist
• Fair-weather friend (idiomatic, for the first sense)
• Prostitute, sex worker (for the second, historical sense)

Related Phrases

• To follow the camp: An older phrase describing the action of accompanying an army, which gives rise to the noun "camp follower."

Related Idioms

• Jump on the bandwagon: To join others in doing something that has become fashionable or popular. This idiom relates closely to the first sense of a "camp follower."
  • After the team started winning, many camp followers jumped on the bandwagon.

Noun

1. a follower who is not a member of an ingroup
2. a prostitute who provides service to military personnel