canvass

verb

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can·vass | \ ˈkan-vəs

variants: or less commonly canvas

canvassed; canvassing

Definition of canvass

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

2a : 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

canvass

noun

variants: or less commonly canvas

Definition of canvass (Entry 2 of 2)

: 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

Other Words from canvass Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About canvass

Examples of canvass in a Sentence

Verb 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: Verb Although unable to find them immediately, officers noted that the car and driver were affiliated with the Ohio Citizen Action educational PAC and permitted to canvass in the village. — Thomas Jewell, cleveland, 9 Apr. 2022 The union gathered their executive subcommittee together and informed the player representatives to canvass their teammates for a vote. — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2022 The 1950 census was the last time that enumerators went door to door, visiting people in person, to canvass the entire country. — Bill Bowden, Arkansas Online, 10 Apr. 2022 The endorsement comes with some manpower: DPSFV volunteers will canvass and organize virtual phone and text banking for De León. — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2022 Police officers will form teams with outreach workers and clinicians that will canvass stations and trains to steer homeless and mentally ill people out of the transit system and toward help, bringing people to hospitals when warranted. — New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Detectives as of early Wednesday afternoon, police said, continued to canvass the area for witnesses and other evidence. — Lawrence Andrea, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Nov. 2021 He was accused of failing to adequately review a police report for inaccuracies and didn’t instruct detectives to interview key witnesses or canvass the original crime scene. — Paige Fry, chicagotribune.com, 15 Jan. 2022 On Monday, police organized a search party to canvass the area surrounding a laundromat where Muenzenberger’s vehicle was found — on the 5200 block of North Sherman Boulevard, less than a mile south of where Clark committed suicide. — Elliot Hughes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Oct. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Democrats will need all hands on deck from right now until the midterms, working the campaign trail to canvass, organize and register voters to facilitate turnout at levels that might potentially soften the blow that looms on the horizon. — Julian Zelizer, CNN, 20 May 2022 Messer compared Ford's September announcement to a heavyweight punch that staggered Michigan but did not send the state to the canvass. — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 15 Dec. 2021 Law enforcement officials learned that Swendiman had traveled from Alaska to Truckee and coordinated a canvass of the area involving multiple agencies, including Truckee police. — Anchorage Daily News, 7 May 2022 If the legislature accepted the results, the official canvass of the vote would proceed. — Lalee Ibssa, ABC News, 10 Feb. 2022 But the canvass to certify the election results conducted by the county board of canvassers — made up of two Republicans and two Democrats — turned up problems. — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2022 Detectives and evidence technicians responded to the scene and began conducting a canvass of the neighborhood. — Megan Jones, chicagotribune.com, 31 Mar. 2022 Thirteen out of balance precincts in the city had an explanation for any discrepancies identified during the election canvass while 16 did not. — Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, 11 Aug. 2021 But in its own canvass of insurers, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Humana does not cover at-home coronavirus tests for those members, even if their Medicare Advantage plan includes some over-the-counter benefits for other products. — Amy Goldstein And Christopher Rowland, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Jan. 2022 See More

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.