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

Tonight, I’m shadowing Elly Mui, who’s been with the campaign since January—first as a paid canvasser in the run-up to the primary, which Mamdani won in a surprise upset, and as a volunteer ever since.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2025

Nick Gerber, an organizer for the hotel and restaurant workers union Unite Here Local 11, which opposes the campaign, said that when a canvasser knocked on his door, he asked who the campaign’s supporters were.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 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

Since leaving prison in 2020, he has worked as a canvasser on several political campaigns.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 1, 2023

I always look on mine as my best canvasser!

From Helena Brett's Career by Coke, Desmond