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

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

A canopy of candy-colored paper lanterns and twinkling lights hangs over a long dining table opposite the restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Aerial footage showed a stream of black SUVs pulling up to the venue with guests dropped off under a white canopy tent.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Under a chaotic canopy woven with vines and studded with fearsome spiked stems, the group crossed streams, waded through mud and picked off dozens of leeches.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

I want to give her a hug, but she takes Voxy’s and Feathers’ hands, and leads them and Rubio farther under the canopy.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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

Newport Beach now prohibits canopies larger than 6 feet by 6 feet and requires that the structures not be connected.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

What had they been when their colossal canopies had reached for the sky?

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

To kill some time before cocktail hour, I visited the free Richelieu Library, where I joined other tourists peering into the Labrouste Room, canopied with a Byzantine-inspired nine-dome ceiling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 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

The white canopied walk-bike bridge at Redmond Technology Station features small gardens, while the neighboring Overlake Village walk-bike bridge portrays forests in a pixelated green mural.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024

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

I found the nearest bedroom and crashed on the canopied bed.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

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 Cooper, James Fenimore

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