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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Their shelter is a patch of plastic and tarp held down by rocks, near the edge of a displacement zone in southwest Deir al-Balah, where Israel was engaged in a military operation from July 20 to 22. Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025 Standing water can often be found in bird baths, cans, plastic tarps, swimming pools, gutters and rain barrels, according to N.C. State. Evan Moore july 31, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2025 Researchers suspect the gull made the first trip accidentally, after becoming trapped under a mesh-like tarp placed atop Recology’s 18-wheel garbage trucks to prevent food scraps from spilling out in transit. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 July 2025 Stat: Dallas has collected only five of a possible 27 points at Toyota Stadium, which has sections of prime seats covered in tarps during a $182 million renovation. Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for tarp

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tarp was in 1906

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Cite this Entry

“Tarp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tarp. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

tarp

noun

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