canvas

1 of 2

noun

can·​vas ˈkan-vəs How to pronounce canvas (audio)
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
In addition to the cover-up work, [Miryam] Lumpini will turn the dimpled canvas of a young man's back into a magnificent phoenix.Allure
The birds were moving art on a canvas of sky and water and endless prairie.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
canvaslike adjective

canvas

2 of 2

verb

canvased or canvassed; canvasing or canvassing

transitive verb

: to cover, line, or furnish with canvas

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
Noun
On Friday, the group posted a video to social media showing a woman spraying red paint on the canvas before cutting it with a sharp tool. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 If the cars represent the pinnacle of racing artistry, the tracks are their collective canvas, and are among the finest in the world. Brad Spurgeon, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 The 1884 oil on canvas mounted on a panel dates to the time the young and unknown artist was living with his parents in the small rural town of Nuenen. Mike Corder, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 Russel planned to get the moment on camera, while McGrew hoped to get it on canvas. Michael Levitt, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024 The film is a riveting story on a small canvas, confronting big issues. Thinus Ferreira, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024 Each home is a canvas, waiting for its owners to leave an indelible mark, with options ranging from the stately designs to homes exhibiting modern elegance. Prime Development, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2024 By the time the portrait was finished, the scrap of cloth had transformed on the canvas into a diaphanous dress. Leah Dolan, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 There’s not a canvas wall in sight, but everything has an earthiness and elemental simplicity. Ann Abel, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Verb
City staff will canvas neighborhoods in flood-prone areas, officials said. Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2024 Tuesday night, a few dozen community members met at the trail to canvas the surrounding neighborhoods of the Bel Air trail with flyers showing images from the video and containing information about the case in both English and Spanish. Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2023 Alarmed, the students found Bailey, a public safety officer who was making his routine rounds canvasing the campus. Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 28 Aug. 2023 Following the April 19, 1993 fire, after authorities had finished canvasing the scene, what little that remained of Mount Carmel was bulldozed. Alyssa Fiorentino, House Beautiful, 20 Apr. 2023 Milwaukee County will also canvas the totals. Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2022 Among the groups responding to an uptick of gun violence in Chicago is BUILD, an organization that deploys intervention teams to canvas hot spots, a crisis response unit that supports survivors and families of victims, as well as therapists and case managers who support over 200 families. Dave Collins, Star Tribune, 24 June 2021 Most of the time, human searchers canvas a project, walking transects under turbines or through solar fields. Emma Foehringer Merchant, WIRED, 11 Feb. 2023 From body reinforcement through mechanism design and fabrication to canvas top-making tasks, every aspect of the work is handled in-house by Zadeh's 15-member team. Barry Winfield, Car and Driver, 2 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'canvas.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English canevas, from Anglo-French canevas, chanevaz, from Vulgar Latin *cannabaceus hempen, from Latin cannabis hemp — more at cannabis

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1556, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of canvas was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near canvas

Cite this Entry

“Canvas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvas. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

canvas

noun
can·​vas
ˈkan-vəs
1
a
: a strong cloth of hemp, flax, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails
b
: a piece of cloth used as a surface for painting
also : a painting on such a surface
2
: something made of canvas
3
: a stiff material (as of coarse cloth or plastic) that has regular meshes for working with a needle (as in needlepoint)

More from Merriam-Webster on canvas

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