camo up

verb

To put on clothing, make-up, etc. with a camouflage pattern, to wear camouflage.

Meanings

verbcamo up (third-person singular simple present camos up, present participle camoing up, simple past and past participle camoed up)

present singular third person camos up · participle present camoing up · participle past camoed up · past camoed up

  1. informalgovernmentTo put on clothing, make-up, etc. with a camouflage pattern, to wear camouflage.

    […] No one told them anything about camo, and it takes them ten minutes to do it right.” ¶ “Well, we have five minutes and everyone has to camo-up,” the first sergeant explained patiently.

    2010, Greg Hastings, “You must lead yourself first”, in Doug Crandall, editor, Leadership Lessons from West Point, page 38
    1 more example

    The week prior to the Army-Navy game is anything goes at West Point. Cadets and hard-core instructors “camo up” and wear BDUs (battle dress uniforms) in preparation for the looming clash of the mighty Army black knights and the wimpy, undisciplined Navy midshipmen.

    1998 December 5, “A Civil War”, in West Palm Beach Post, page 6E
  2. informalgovernmentTo camouflage one's person or equipment, to hide or obscure from view.

    The plan is to have the veterinarian “camo up,” maybe by using a hunting blind, he said, to get close enough to take a shot with a tranquilizer gun.

    2009 April 4, Nick Ferraro, “Fans, police, veterinarian hope to rescue Oreo the goat”, in St. Paul Pioneer Press, Dakota County local

Origin

Ultimately from camouflage, of camo plus the aspect marker up.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

camo up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camo%20up

MLA

“camo up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camo%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “camo up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camo%20up.

Source: camo up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.