canvass

verb

can·​vass ˈkan-vəs 

variants or less commonly canvas

canvassed; canvassing

transitive verb

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

a

: to examine in detail

specifically : to examine (votes) officially for authenticity

b

: discuss, debate

canvassed all the items on the agenda

3

obsolete : to toss in a canvas sheet in sport or punishment

intransitive verb

: to seek orders or votes : solicit

was canvassing for a seat in Congress

canvasser noun

or less commonly canvaser

Synonyms of canvass

• survey
• interview

Examples of canvass in a Sentence

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

By law, county elections offices have up to 30 days to canvass the election results and count all eligible votes. —Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026

Marcus Romero and Alberto Parra were out on their Saturday morning canvassing neighborhoods in Oakland to drum up support for Measure E. —John Ramos, CBS News, 31 May 2026

AltaMed doctors and medical professionals traded stethoscopes for fliers advertising voting sites and canvassed neighborhoods in Santa Ana ahead of the June 2 primary on Tuesday to connect with residents who had been diagnosed as low-propensity or inconsistent voters. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 29 May 2026

The fire has since been contained, and firefighters are conducting searches of the site and using a drone to canvass the area for any victims, Russ said. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 28 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

see canvas entry 1

First Known Use

1508, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Rhymes for canvass

• canvas

Kids 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

ˈkan-vəs 

canvassed also canvased; canvassing also canvasing

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to seek or solicit orders or votes