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

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.

Verb

Amid this turmoil, and ahead of the January transfer window, The Athletic has canvassed the views of 40 scouts from across the Premier League and EFL to test the temperature of the industry. —

Philip Buckingham, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024 But the inspector general's office determined that the FBI failed to canvass its field offices ahead of Jan. 6, 2021, to identify any intelligence, including from informants, about potential threats that day to Congress' certification of Biden's electoral win. —

Ryan Lucas, NPR, 12 Dec. 2024

Noun

His arrest came after what police described as a significant use of police resources, including combing through thousands of hours of video, reviewing hundreds of tips, DNA testing, fingerprint analysis, drones and aviation canvasses, that for days appeared to yield no results. —

Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024 Police are attempting to track him through video canvass, the NYPD sources said. —

Kerry Breen, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for canvass