I. cru ‧ sade 1 /kruːˈseɪd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: croisade and Spanish cruzada , both from Latin crux ; ⇨ ↑ cross 2 ]
1 . a determined attempt to change something because you think you are morally right ⇨ campaign
crusade against/for
He seems to be running a one-man crusade against cigarette smoking.
2 . ( also Crusade ) one of a series of wars fought in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries by Christian armies trying to take Palestine from the Muslims
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THESAURUS
■ when people try to achieve something
▪ fight the process in which people try to stop something bad from happening or to improve a situation:
Schools have an important part to play in the fight against drugs.
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women’s fight for equality
▪ battle a fight to change a situation or deal with a problem in society:
The battle against racial discrimination is not over.
▪ campaign a planned series of actions intended to achieve something:
Motoring organizations started a campaign for safer roads.
▪ struggle a long, hard fight for freedom, independence, equal rights etc:
Nkrumah led the people in their struggle for independence.
▪ crusade someone’s fight against something they think is morally wrong:
She intends to continue her crusade against sex and violence on TV.
II. crusade 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
to take part in a crusade SYN campaign
crusade against/for
He continued to crusade for free education for all.
—crusader noun [countable]