crusade
Americannoun
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Often Crusade any of the military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Muslims.
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any war carried on under papal sanction.
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any vigorous, aggressive movement for the defense or advancement of an idea, cause, etc..
a crusade against child abuse.
verb (used without object)
noun
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(often capital) any of the military expeditions undertaken in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries by the Christian powers of Europe to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims
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(formerly) any holy war undertaken on behalf of a religious cause
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a vigorous and dedicated action or movement in favour of a cause
verb
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to campaign vigorously for something
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to go on a crusade
Other Word Forms
- crusader noun
- noncrusading adjective
- post-Crusade adjective
- pre-Crusade adjective
Etymology
Origin of crusade
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier crusada, from Spanish cruzada; replacing croisade, from Middle French. See cross, -ade 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her crusade reflected her earlier shock upon seeing Lower East Side tenements for the first time.
There’s Charles Foster Kane, an extremely rich, crusading newspaper owner who is chided by a friend for losing more than a million dollars a year.
From Salon
The spread of this new orthodoxy shouldn’t be surprising, for as the author notes, “insatiability is a defining feature of moral crusades. As crusaders achieve victories, they expand the scope of their crusade.”
Brought alongside six other high-profile figures, including pop icon Elton John and his husband David Furnish, it is the prince's last active legal case in his long-running crusade against the British media.
From Barron's
Prince Harry is to return to London this week for the trial into his claims that a UK newspaper group unlawfully gathered information, in the royal's last case in his long-running crusade against the media.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
