tarpaulin

noun

tar·pau·lin | \ tär-ˈpȯ-lən

, ˈtär-pə-; nonstandard tär-ˈpōl-yən\

plural tarpaulins

Definition of tarpaulin

1 : a piece of material used especially for protecting exposed objects or areas : tarp The hatchways of some armed vessels are but poorly secured in bad weather. … They were merely spread over with an old tarpaulin, cracked and rent in every direction.— Herman Melville

2 dated : sailor "What does this here blessed tarpaulin go and do," said Mr. Peggotty, with his face one high noon of enjoyment, "but he loses that there art of his to our little Em'ly."— Charles Dickens The Englishman replied, like a rough tarpaulin, "They might starve; they should not plant nor build in that place."— Daniel Defoe

Examples of tarpaulin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Villagers fearing aftershocks could be seen camped by the thousands under makeshift blue tarpaulins held together with bamboo and sticks. — Todd Pitman, The Seattle Times, "In quake-hit Indonesia, a challenge to recover the dead," 7 Aug. 2018 Bamboo and tarpaulin are all that the Rohingya — hundreds of thousands of whom crossed into Bangladesh after fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar — have as shelter from the heavy rains and cyclones that lash the region each year. — Vidhi Doshi, Washington Post, "‘Everything was destroyed’: Monsoon begins to take deadly toll on Rohingya camps in Bangladesh," 24 June 2018 Spokesman Arifin Hadi said people need clean water and tarpaulins most of all. — Andi Jatmiko, Fox News, "Third strong earthquake shakes Lombok as death toll tops 220," 9 Aug. 2018 In Arsal, where refugees number about twice as many as the town’s residents, some 70,000 Syrians live in shabby tarpaulin tents and have few legal rights, including authorization to work. — Sune Engel Rasmussen, WSJ, "Refugees Become Pawns in Syria’s Bid for Foreign Aid," 27 July 2018 Most days, Nyine’s side of the family wasn’t in their blue tarpaulin home but at the Bigo clinic for wound checks. — Nick Turse, Teen Vogue, "The Democratic Republic of Congo Has Humanitarian Crises Leaving Millions of Children In Danger," 14 Nov. 2018 The tarpaulin fabric is lightweight yet super durable. — Ariella Gintzler, Outside Online, "Testing Adventure-Ready Travel Bags from Eagle Creek," 10 May 2018 There was not a single tarpaulin or cot left in stock. — Frances Robles, New York Times, "FEMA Was Sorely Unprepared for Puerto Rico Hurricane, Report Says," 12 July 2018 From the moment her belly began to swell, Noor, who like others in this story is being identified only by her first name for her protection, stayed huddled in her tarpaulin shelter, hiding from the judgment of others. — New York Times, "When a Baby Is an Everyday Reminder of Rohingya Horror," 7 July 2018

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