variants
or less commonly canvass
plural canvases also canvasses
1
: a firm closely woven cloth usually of linen, hemp, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails
2
a
: a piece of cloth backed or framed as a surface for a painting
an artist's canvas
also
: the painting on such a surface
b
: something likened to a painter's canvas
… just up the driveway is an extraordinary piece of garden design. [Ruth] Bancroft is the artist and her canvas is a three-acre patch of land in the midst of suburbia.—
Harriet Chiang
Harriet ChiangIn addition to the cover-up work, [Miryam] Lumpini will turn the dimpled canvas of a young man's back into a magnificent phoenix.—Allure
AllureThe birds were moving art on a canvas of sky and water and endless prairie.—Shannon Tompkins
Shannon Tompkins
c
: the background, setting, or scope of a historical or fictional account or narrative
the crowded canvas of history
3
: a piece of canvas used for a particular purpose
a hammock made of canvas
4
: tent
also
: a group of tents
5
: a set of sails : sail
sailing under full canvas
6
: a stiff material (as of coarse cloth or plastic) that has regular meshes for working with a needle (as in needlepoint)
7
: the canvas-covered floor of a boxing or wrestling ring
canvased or canvassed; canvasing or canvassing
: to cover, line, or furnish with canvas
Synonyms
Examples of canvas in a Sentence
Noun
a tent made of canvas
Use a canvas to cover the boat.
The museum has several canvases by Rubens.
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024
Summer 2025 will be dedicated to visionary British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, while summer 2026 will welcome the bright canvases of American modernist Ellsworth Kelly.
—Alexandra Zagalsky, theweek, 1 Nov. 2024
Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Oct. 2024
Knowing consumers have an abundance of choices for shopping, are less inclined to dress up, and may be increasingly wary of rising prices, retailers attending this week’s Coterie show were canvasing the aisles for newness.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvas 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Election certification is the final administrative step in the process after the earlier canvas and audits identify and resolve irregularities.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024
Summer 2025 will be dedicated to visionary British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, while summer 2026 will welcome the bright canvases of American modernist Ellsworth Kelly.
—Alexandra Zagalsky, theweek, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
Detectives are canvasing the area for surveillance footage.
—Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Oct. 2024
Knowing consumers have an abundance of choices for shopping, are less inclined to dress up, and may be increasingly wary of rising prices, retailers attending this week’s Coterie show were canvasing the aisles for newness.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvas
Articles Related to canvas
Dictionary Entries Near canvas
Cite this Entry
“Canvas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvas. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share