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.

---

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

One canvasser, Timothy Nikonorov, explained that he had been an active volunteer with Mamdani’s campaign before becoming a frequent canvasser for Park, and an occasional canvassing lead.

From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026

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

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

One canvasser sought signatures at a Tijuana school, where he was seen falsifying addresses for signers who weren’t California voters.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2023

Immediately the advertisement canvasser was sent for, M. Blanc having refused to farm out that department to an agency, as is frequently done in Paris, in order to retain the absolute control over it.

From An Englishman in Paris Notes and Recollections by Albert D.