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

Cornelius lived with his fiancée in a meager green tent draped with a blue tarp on Old Wheat Street, nestled between the King Historic District and downtown Atlanta. —Holly Yan, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025

Vast pools of this wastewater are covered in football field-sized tarps, which trap the solids that rise to the surface. —Sean Patrick Cooper, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2025

RVs in various states of disrepair butted up to tarp compounds that overflowed with debris, from bottles and cans to appliances and vehicles. —Literary Hub, 21 Nov. 2025

And the house on the corner that had a ragged tarp over the leaky roof. —John Carlisle, Freep.com, 13 Nov. 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