canvass

verb can·vass \ ˈkan-vəs \

variants: or less commonly canvas

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

canvassed; canvassing

transitive verb

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

2 a : to examine in detail; specifically : to examine (votes) officially for authenticity

b : discuss, debate

canvassed all the items on the agenda

3 : 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

intransitive verb

: to seek orders or votes : solicit

was canvassing for a seat in Congress

—

canvasser

or less commonly canvaser noun

See canvass defined for English-language learners

See canvass defined for kids

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 of canvass from the Web

Investigators with the highway patrol continue to analyze the vehicle and canvass the suspected route the family took from Washington to California.

— kale williams, OregonLive.com, "Search for missing Hart children intensifies on California coast ahead of storm," 4 Apr. 2018
Detectives were canvassing the neighborhood to ask if anyone saw or heard anything.

— matt campbell and robert a. cronkleton, kansascity, "Police investigate triple homicide in Kansas City, Kan. | The Kansas City Star," 3 Apr. 2018
Competitors are given a few minutes beforehand to canvass and develop a strategy, called a stage plan, Carter said.

— meredith colias-pete, Post-Tribune, "For Hobart teen, competition shooting is serious business," 30 Mar. 2018
The results remain unofficial until all the votes are canvassed.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "DuPage voters want clerk, election commission roles merged," 21 Mar. 2018
The Japanese auto maker, disproportionately affected by the safety crisis, has sent a team of more than 500 employees canvassing owners of vehicles with the most dangerous air bags across the U.S. in attempt to galvanize them to seek repairs.

— mike spector, WSJ, "Senators Press Car Executives, Regulator on Explosive Air Bags," 20 Mar. 2018
The investigation also involved hundreds of officers canvassing stables and horseshoe establishments.

— theresa vargas, Washington Post, "A century before Austin’s bombings, a deadly Wall Street explosion was never solved," 20 Mar. 2018
An officer canvassing the area had discovered clothing in a ditch … a quarter of a mile, maybe less from the scene.

— CBS News, "Afraid of the Dark: Texas woman seeks justice in childhood kidnapping, attack," 4 Mar. 2018
Equally preposterous is the idea of Churchill canvassing Londoners on their views about British foreign policy toward Hitler.

— giles milton, Time, "One Important Difference Between Gary Oldman's Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and the Real Prime Minister," 2 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'canvass.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of canvass

see ¹canvas

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1508

See Words from the same year

canvass Synonyms

Synonyms

agitate, argue, bandy, bat (around or back and forth), debate, discuss, dispute, hash (over or out), moot, talk over;

Related Words

review, speak (about), talk (about);

broach, introduce, propound, raise, stir up;

forge, hammer out, talk out, thrash (out), wrestle (with);

chew over, consider, deliberate, weigh;

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

canvass

noun

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

Recent Examples of canvass from the Web

The volunteers organized teams of people to phone-bank and canvass every Monday night throughout the fall of 2016.

— hahrie han, The New Republic, "Building a Bigger Tent," 11 Apr. 2018
Sleeping Beauty Castle is smaller than Cinderella Castle, so there’s less of a blank canvass / projection space during a spectacular.

— dewayne bevil, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Disneyland show features flying Buzz Lightyear, floating 'Up' house," 11 Apr. 2018
Both were dressed in torn black jeans and jackets, but Puente had a black canvass pistol holster on his hip and was wearing a bullet-proof vest, Plauchet said.

— bruce selcraig, San Antonio Express-News, "Arrest in police officer’s killing described at capital murder trial," 8 Mar. 2018
Windell’s work depicts nature in Wisconsin with its glorious seasonal palettes, painting her lush, impressionistic acrylics on a variety of surfaces, including canvasses, old windows and glassware.

— bob dohr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "UW-Waukesha's spring production of "Eurydice" to open March 30," 26 Mar. 2018
The official canvass of results is scheduled to take place the day after those ballots are reported.

— frank abderholden, Lake County News-Sun, "Libertyville Democrat headed to November race against Wyckoff for Lake County clerk," 21 Mar. 2018
If the carbon material works, the fibers can be woven into clothing and suits, canvasses for a habitat on Mars and the lining of ship walls.

— kate murphy, Cincinnati.com, "These UC Bearcats are heading to space. (OK, their experiments are.)," 7 Mar. 2018
The Imagineer coloring books were distributed around town at public places, to put blank canvasses into the hands of residents.

— jennifer conn, akron reporter, cleveland.com, "'Kenmore Imagineer: Boulevard Vision' winners' designs inspired by peace, unity and pride (photos)," 16 Feb. 2018
Most campaigns depend on volunteers to phone bank and canvass neighborhoods, and this is an easy way for would-be teen voters to begin exploring an interest in politics and gain internship experience.

— celeste pewter, Teen Vogue, "Senate Races to Watch in 2018," 8 Feb. 2018

Origin and Etymology of canvass

see ¹canvas

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1611

See Words from the same year

CANVASS Defined for English Language Learners

canvass

verb

: to ask (the people in an area) what they think about a candidate, project, idea, etc.
: to talk to the people in an area in order to get them to support a candidate, project, idea, etc.
: to look at or consider (something) carefully