variants
or less commonly canvas
canvassed; canvassing
1
: to go through (a district) or go to (persons) in order to solicit orders or political support or to determine opinions or sentiments
canvass voters
canvassed the neighborhood to solicit magazine subscriptions
2
3
obsolete
: to toss in a canvas sheet in sport or punishment
: to seek orders or votes : solicit
was canvassing for a seat in Congress
canvasser
noun
or less commonly canvaser
variants
or less commonly canvas
: the act or an instance of canvassing
especially
: a personal solicitation of votes or survey of public opinion
a house-to-house canvass to ascertain the vote before the election
Synonyms
Examples of canvass in a Sentence
Verb
A team of volunteers is canvassing the city for the Republican Party.
We go to every house to canvass voters.
She is canvassing for one of the presidential candidates this year.
The group has been canvassing neighborhoods to ask people to vote for him.
The company canvassed several sites for a new factory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ray Stern, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Sandy Joiner, president of the Western Wake County Republican Club, has worked to canvass with Republican women competing for state and local seats.
—Ashley Schwartz-Lavares, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024
The recount must be completed five days after the canvass of the vote is completed, which is Nov. 30.
—Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvass 
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Verb
Once all the votes are counted, counties across the state will canvass them, or officially report the results to the state.
—Ray Stern, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Sandy Joiner, president of the Western Wake County Republican Club, has worked to canvass with Republican women competing for state and local seats.
—Ashley Schwartz-Lavares, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
In Orange County, for example, the registrar of voters was able to complete its canvass of the March primary 17 days after Election Day.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024
The recount must be completed five days after the canvass of the vote is completed, which is Nov. 30.
—Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvass
Dictionary Entries Near canvass
Cite this Entry
“Canvass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvass. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
canvass
1 of 2 verb
can·vass
ˈkan-vəs 
: to go through (a district) or go to (people) to ask for votes, contributions, or orders or to determine public opinion
canvasser
noun
canvass
2 of 2 noun
: an act of canvassing
Legal Definition
canvass
verb
can·vass
variants
also canvas
canvassed also canvased; canvassing also canvasing
1
a
: to examine in detail
specifically
: to examine (votes) officially for authenticity
b
: to make the subject of discussion or debate
2
: to go through (a district) or go to (persons) in order to solicit orders or political support or to determine opinions or sentiments
: to seek or solicit orders or votes
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