canvas

1 of 2

noun

can·​vas ˈkan-vəs 

variants or less commonly canvass

plural canvases also canvasses

1

: a firm closely woven cloth usually of linen, hemp, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails

2

a

: a piece of cloth backed or framed as a surface for a painting

an artist's canvas

also : the painting on such a surface

b

: something likened to a painter's canvas

… just up the driveway is an extraordinary piece of garden design. [Ruth] Bancroft is the artist and her canvas is a three-acre patch of land in the midst of suburbia.

—Harriet Chiang

In addition to the cover-up work, [Miryam] Lumpini will turn the dimpled canvas of a young man's back into a magnificent phoenix.

—Allure

The birds were moving art on a canvas of sky and water and endless prairie.

—Shannon Tompkins

c

: the background, setting, or scope of a historical or fictional account or narrative

the crowded canvas of history

3

: a piece of canvas used for a particular purpose

a hammock made of canvas

4

: tent

also : a group of tents

5

: a set of sails : sail

sailing under full canvas

6

: a stiff material (as of coarse cloth or plastic) that has regular meshes for working with a needle (as in needlepoint)

7

: the canvas-covered floor of a boxing or wrestling ring

canvaslike

ˈkan-vəs-ˌlīk 

adjective

canvas

2 of 2

verb

canvased or canvassed; canvasing or canvassing

transitive verb

: to cover, line, or furnish with canvas

Synonyms

Noun

• oil
• oil painting
• painting

Examples of canvas in a Sentence

Noun

a tent made of canvas

Use a canvas to cover the boat.

The museum has several canvases by Rubens.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Remove crayon from walls Anyone who has children knows that sometimes the walls become a canvas for an eager young artist. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2024

Every Client Is Unique Every single client is a unique canvas. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024

Verb

Detectives are canvasing the area for surveillance footage. —Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Oct. 2024

Knowing consumers have an abundance of choices for shopping, are less inclined to dress up, and may be increasingly wary of rising prices, retailers attending this week’s Coterie show were canvasing the aisles for newness. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English canevas, from Anglo-French canevas, chanevaz, from Vulgar Latin *cannabaceus hempen, from Latin cannabis hemp — more at cannabis

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1556, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing canvas

• under canvas

Kids Definition

canvas

noun

can·​vas

ˈkan-vəs

1

a

: a strong cloth of hemp, flax, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails

b

: a piece of cloth used as a surface for painting

also : a painting on such a surface

2

: something made of canvas

3

: a stiff material (as of coarse cloth or plastic) that has regular meshes for working with a needle (as in needlepoint)