canopy

American  

[kan-uh-pee] / ˈkæn ə pi /

noun

• canopies
  plural

1. a covering, usually of fabric, supported on poles or suspended above a bed, throne, exalted personage, or sacred object.

2. an overhanging projection or covering, as a long canvas awning stretching from the doorway of a building to a curb.

3. an ornamental, rooflike projection or covering.

4. Also called crown cover.  Also called crown canopy;.  the cover formed by the leafy upper branches of the trees in a forest.

5. the sky.

6. the part of a parachute that opens up and fills with air, usually made of nylon or silk.

7. the transparent cover over the cockpit of an airplane.

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verb (used with object)

canopied, canopying

1. to cover with or as with a canopy.

   Branches canopied the road.

canopy British  

/ ˈkænəpɪ /

noun

1. an ornamental awning above a throne or bed or held over a person of importance on ceremonial occasions

2. a rooflike covering over an altar, niche, etc

3. a roofed structure serving as a sheltered passageway or area

4. a large or wide covering, esp one high above

   the sky was a grey canopy

5. the nylon or silk hemisphere that forms the supporting surface of a parachute

6. the transparent cover of an aircraft cockpit

7. the highest level of branches and foliage in a forest, formed by the crowns of the trees

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verb

1. (tr) to cover with or as if with a canopy

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• supercanopy
  noun
• uncanopied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• canopies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of canopy

1350–1400; Middle English canope < Medieval Latin canōpēum, variant of Latin cōnōpēum mosquito net < Greek kōnōpeîon bed with net to keep gnats off, equivalent to kṓnōp ( s ) gnat + -eion, neuter of -eios adj. suffix

Explanation

A canopy is a roof-like covering for a bed, made of fabric. A lot of little girls dream of having a four-poster bed with a ruffled canopy. Any fabric cover that acts as a roof can be called a canopy, and so can something resembling such a covering, like a canopy of leaves created by trees. The Greek word that's at the root of canopy is konopeion, which means "Egyptian couch with mosquito curtains." The Old French conope, which evolved into today's canopy, originally meant "bed-curtain."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canopy canopies canopied canopying

In an old-growth forest with a dense, multi-layered canopy, visual estimates can be highly misleading.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

"We're looking at the subsurface level and then everything from that up beyond the canopy."

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

It is naturally affected by lightning fires that spread rapidly through the canopy, making them difficult to control.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

During the hottest days, they set up a canopy umbrella over their stall to shield them from the sun.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Bright Ghanaian cloth created a pretty canopy over her bed, and a glass container sat beside her table.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Their thick bark and elevated canopies offer protection, while smaller fires clear vegetation, recycle nutrients, and create conditions that help new sequoias grow.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

I saw canopies of Iraqi flags, bodies out every window, everyone dancing to a faint hip-hop pulse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

They also used instruments that measured CO2 levels in tree canopies every hour and sensors attached to tree trunks that tracked tiny changes in trunk size throughout the day.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Some of the bays on the rooftop are partially covered with canopies.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

At night, in her bed, she rides in the belly of Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, below the gales, while canopies of coral drift overhead.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Vimalakirti leans over the edge of his canopied bed with an impatient stare, as he argues that it is possible to enjoy earthly life while still abiding by Buddhist nonattachment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

This long block in Altadena — canopied with oaks and camphor trees and bookended by two roads — offered a rare small-town feel in the L.A. metropolis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025

Surrounded by hundreds of police officers and supporters, they hunker down inside a canopied structure made of blue tarpaulin sheets that serves as a tent.

From BBC ● May 22, 2023

The boat was equipped with a canopied life raft that floated free and inflated.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2023

Two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

Under the canopying smoke of London or Edinburgh, even amongst the beautiful fields of England or Scotland, there is nothing to be made of him.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 354, April 1845 by Various

The latter had become known at the Nest, solely by the circumstance that the object which had so lately canopied aristocracy in St. Andrew's, Ravensrest, was now canopying pigs up at the farm house.

From The Chainbearer Or, The Littlepage Manuscripts by James Fenimore Cooper