canvasser

American  

[kan-vuhs-er] / ˈkæn vəs ər /

noun

1. a person who solicits votes, subscriptions, donations, opinions, or the like, especially by phone or door-to-door.

   Besides raising funds, canvassers also leave important information for residents regarding heart health.

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Etymology

Origin of canvasser

First recorded in 1595–1605, for an earlier sense; 1790–1800, for the current sense; canvass ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

She’s paired up with a first-time canvasser, Michael, a twentysomething from Queens who declined to give his last name.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2025

Sanchez, 27, worked as a paid canvasser for the Democratic Party of Georgia in 2020 and as an organizer for the “Stop Cop City” effort.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 1, 2024

Then, standing on the stoop of his parents’ home in Hamtramck, a Detroit suburb, he talked in the early afternoon with a canvasser from the Detroit chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2024

A canvasser from a consulting firm, Graystone Public Affairs, had submitted duplicate signatures, she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2023

Looking his canvasser in the eye, with equal earnestness and shrewdness, Murphy responded; "I tell you what, docthur; I mane to vote for the man that can put but one hand into the Treasury."

From Homes of American Statesmen With Anecdotical, Personal, and Descriptive Sketches by Various