canvass

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verb

can·vass ˈkan-vəs

variants or less commonly canvas

canvassed; canvassing

Synonyms of canvass next

transitive verb

: 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

: to examine in detail

specifically : to examine (votes) officially for authenticity

: discuss, debate

canvassed all the items on the agenda

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

canvasser noun

or less commonly canvaser

canvass

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noun

variants or less commonly canvas

: 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

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

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Verb

Once all the votes are counted, counties across the state will canvass them, or officially report the results to the state. —

Ray Stern, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 Sandy Joiner, president of the Western Wake County Republican Club, has worked to canvass with Republican women competing for state and local seats. —

Ashley Schwartz-Lavares, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024

Noun

In Orange County, for example, the registrar of voters was able to complete its canvass of the March primary 17 days after Election Day. —

Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024 The recount must be completed five days after the canvass of the vote is completed, which is Nov. 30. —

Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for canvass