crusade

noun5

1. •
   (historical) Any of the Papally-endorsed military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Latin Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries to reconquer the Levant from the Muslims, as well as expeditions along the Baltic Sea and against the Cathars.

   • During the crusades, many Muslims and Christians and Jews were slaughtered.
2. •
   (figurative) A grand, concerted effort towards some purportedly worthy cause.

   • a crusade against drug abuse
3. •
   Any war instigated and blessed by the Church for alleged religious ends, (especially) papal-sanctioned military campaigns against infidels or heretics.
4. •
   (old-fashioned) A mass gathering in a political campaign or during a religious revival effort.
5. •
   (no longer used) A Portuguese coin; a crusado.

verb2

1. •
   To go on a military crusade.
2. •
   To make a grand concerted effort toward some purportedly worthy cause.

   • He crusaded against similar injustices for the rest of his life.

noun1

1. •
   Any of a series of religious campaigns by Christian forces from the 11th to the 13th century, mostly to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims and Jews who inhabited it.