canvass

verb can·vass \ ˈkan-vəs \

variants: or less commonly canvas

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: canvass in a Sentence

Definition of canvass

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

On Sunday, firefighters canvassed Goleta’s hillside neighborhoods with shovels, looking for remaining hot spots.

— andrea castillo, latimes.com, "'I have happy tears,' Goleta resident says after finding his home survived destructive wildfire," 9 July 2018
Officers canvassed the area and found a 33-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds, according to police.

— sarah meehan, baltimoresun.com, "Two men killed in Baltimore early Thursday, police say," 5 July 2018
Officers canvassed the area but found no evidence of foul play.

— samantha swindler, OregonLive.com, "Stroller abandoned in street had only a doll inside: Forest Grove police log," 11 June 2018
Homicide detectives canvassed the area for witnesses, and the Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency responded to assist in identifying and collecting potential evidence.

— tim evans, Indianapolis Star, "Police investigating fatal shooting of man Thursday in 1200 block of North Grant Avenue," 11 May 2018
Officers canvassed the area and found evidence that led to the arrest of the suspect, who was taken into custody in the area of 35th St. and Wisconsin Ave. without incident.

— mike johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Woman stabbed during robbery attempt in Columbia St. Mary's Hospital parking garage," 3 Apr. 2018
EMTs canvassed the neighborhood to find out if more people were sick, Medic said.

— jane wester, charlotteobserver, "Mass casualty bus headed to east Charlotte apartments as people get sick, call 911," 1 July 2018
Primaries typically draw only hard-core voters, so targeted outreach like neighborhood canvassing instead of television ads and mass mailings fits with DiMasi’s grassroots strategy.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Physicist hopes the evidence is clear in bid for New York congressional seat," 20 June 2018
Police canvassed the neighborhood and found no evidence of the theft, reports said.

— brian lisik/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Woman cited for leaving dog unattended in car: Brunswick Police Blotter," 7 May 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

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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

Definition of canvass

: 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

Several hundred more absentee ballots will be counted on July 6, following the July 5 canvass of 348 provisional ballots, the latter which still must be certified, elections officials said.

— erika butler, The Aegis, "Incumbent delegates Lisanti, Glass win renomination in Harford's District 34; McComas leads Tilley," 28 June 2018
Katie Brown, Baltimore County’s director of elections, said her staff was opening the locked boxes of provisional ballots Wednesday and preparing them for a July 5 canvass.

— pamela wood, baltimoresun.com, "Absentee, provisional ballots could swing tight Democratic primary for Baltimore County executive," 27 June 2018
Everything but the artists’ tools, canvasses and some of the paint is melted, scorched or blasted to pieces.

— kevin fagan, SFChronicle.com, "Wine Country artists find new life, inspiration in the wreckage of studios," 9 July 2018
Officials have at least 268 more absentee ballots slated for the July 6 canvass, according to Keene.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Harford races for local offices remain unchanged after first absentee canvass," 28 June 2018
Bracing for the worst, most public-sector unions launched campaigns last fall to canvass members in case of an unfavorable decision, holding rallies, knocking on doors and in several cases asking members to sign legally-binding recommitment cards.

— kris maher, WSJ, "Public-Sector Unions Brace for Fallout From Supreme Court Decision on Fees," 27 June 2018
The babysitter called police for help, prompting officers to establish a perimeter within the neighborhood and a canvass search to find the child and Williams, Glendale police said.

— nathan j. fish, azcentral, "Man charged in kidnapping of Glendale 2-year-old," 25 May 2018
The Republicans will choose their candidates in a June 7 party canvass on Thursday.

— patricia sullivan, Washington Post, "Take a cheat sheet: 12 Democrats vie for six seats on Alexandria council," 4 June 2018
Provisional voters will receive a notice in the mail by the 10th day after the local canvass advising them if their provisional ballots were counted, and if they were not counted, the reason why.

— nick powell, Houston Chronicle, "David Collins named winner over incumbent Maceo in closely contested Galveston council race," 14 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of canvass

see ¹canvas

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1611

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

CANVASS Defined for English Language Learners

canvass

verb

Definition of canvass for English Language Learners

: 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