canvas

[kan-vuhs]

noun

1. a closely woven, heavy cloth of cotton, hemp, or linen, used for tents, sails, etc.

2. a piece of this or similar material on which a painting is made.

3. a painting on canvas.

4. a tent, or tents collectively.

5. sailcloth.

6. sails collectively.

7. any fabric of linen, cotton, or hemp of a coarse loose weave used as a foundation for embroidery stitches, interlining, etc.

8. the floor of a boxing ring traditionally consisting of a canvas covering stretched over a mat.

Trademark, Digital Technology.

1. Canvas, the brand name for an open-source learning management system, launched in 2011.

canvas

/ ˈkænvəs /

noun

1. 1. a heavy durable cloth made of cotton, hemp, or jute, used for sails, tents, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a canvas bag

2. 1. a piece of canvas or a similar material on which a painting is done, usually in oils

   2. a painting on this material, esp in oils

3. a tent or tents collectively

4. nautical any cloth of which sails are made

5. nautical the sails of a vessel collectively

6. any coarse loosely woven cloth on which embroidery, tapestry, etc, is done

7. the floor of a boxing or wrestling ring

8. rowing the tapering covered part at either end of a racing boat, sometimes referred to as a unit of length

   to win by a canvas

9. 1. in tents

   2. nautical with sails unfurled

Other Word Forms

• canvaslike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of canvas¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English canevas, from Anglo-French, Old North French, from unattested Vulgar Latin cannabāceus (noun use of adjective), equivalent to Latin cannab(is) + -āceus; hemp, -aceous

Word History and Origins

Origin of canvas¹

C14: from Norman French canevas, ultimately from Latin cannabis hemp

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. under canvas,

   1. Nautical. with set sails.

   2. in tents; in the field.

      the troops under canvas.

Example Sentences

When Jackson hit the ring, he scooped Smith over his shoulder and slammed him to the canvas.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Right above the shores of Huntington Beach, a retired American subsonic T-33 fighter jet darted across the blue canvas of a clear afternoon sky, leaving a spiraling plume of smoke in its wake.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Crime was one of the issues, and while canvassing a neighborhood, Fonda found this woman unwilling to open all of her door.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

You could argue that there’s something exciting about the chance to draw a new community on the blank canvas of the old one.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Hunter's Return is a vast canvas depicting a war zone, with toppled trees and craters lit up by a fiery sky, and with green military laser beams emerging from the smoke.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• art 
• artwork 
• picture 
• piece 
• portrait 
• watercolor