tarp

noun

ˈtärp 

plural tarps

: a piece of material (such as durable plastic or waterproofed canvas) used especially for protecting exposed objects or areas : tarpaulin

The crewmen competed for a place to stand beneath the small tarp that covered part of the narrow deck.

—Matt Potts

This house, half of it's all burned up. They live there, the burned part's covered with a tarp, with their dogs, and they must have at least ten.

—Katya Reno

Examples of tarp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Remove firewood, bricks, boards, tarps, or vegetation up against the house, which shelters insects that provide food for spiders, says Gray. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2025

But one worker is stuck high above the stage wrapped in a tarp. —Bryan West, Nashville Tennessean, 10 Oct. 2025

It was covered now by a blue tarp. —Matt Gelb, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025

Officers assisted with holding a tarp at the bottom to cushion the wild animal's fall, which was caught on camera and shared on the Tucson Police Department Facebook on September 18. —Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tarp

• carp
• harp
• scarp
• endocarp
• pericarp

Kids Definition

tarp

noun

ˈtärp 

: tarpaulin