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
Harriet ChiangIn addition to the cover-up work, [Miryam] Lumpini will turn the dimpled canvas of a young man's back into a magnificent phoenix.—Allure
AllureThe birds were moving art on a canvas of sky and water and endless prairie.—Shannon Tompkins
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
canvased or canvassed; canvasing or canvassing
: to cover, line, or furnish with canvas
Synonyms
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 WebNicol Natale, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
The gel texture has a slip to it that creates a canvas for seamless blending, but the primer also offers complexion heavyweights like hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and peptides.
—Deanna Pai, Vogue, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvas 
Noun
The timeless bag is made from a high-quality canvas with leather trim that looks luxurious.
—Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
The gel texture has a slip to it that creates a canvas for seamless blending, but the primer also offers complexion heavyweights like hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and peptides.
—Deanna Pai, Vogue, 26 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvas
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'canvas.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Canvas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvas. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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