tarp
noun
tarp
American
[tahrp]
/ tɑrp /
noun
-
tarps
plural
TARP
1
British
/ tɑːp /
acronym
tarp
2
British
/ tɑːp /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tarp
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; by shortening
Explanation
A tarp is a piece of cloth that's usually waterproof canvas. When you're camping, it's a good idea to put a tarp on the damp ground before you set up your tent. Since 1906, the word tarp has been a common shorthand for tarpaulin. Today tarps are just as likely to be made from vinyl or polyethylene, but they were once uniformly heavy canvas that had been treated with tar to make it water resistant. Tarps are used for yard work, to cover furniture while a room is being painted, or to cover the bed of a truck, among many other uses.
Vocabulary lists containing tarp
Pride
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My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
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Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He likened conventional TMS to covering a leak with a tarp to manage its effects.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Samantha Weldon, manager at the Silver City resort, still encourages people to tarp up, especially if they are embarking on a multiday hike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The administration complied but placed a tarp over the sign, which has remained ever since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
But South Korea's heatwave has made it uninhabitable, forcing him to seek refuge under a makeshift tarp just a stone’s throw from Gangnam’s gleaming skyscrapers, where the wealthy remain cool in their aloof abodes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Layla, go shake out that tarp, and we’ll put everything we find over there.”
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Congress did pass legislation, TARP, with two components.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2023
Casting aside his longstanding free-market philosophy, Mr. Bush asked Congress to authorize $700 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to prop up the banks.
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2023
In the most dramatic floor vote in decades, the House of Representatives defeated the initial version of TARP.
From Fox News ● Aug. 9, 2020
To oversee TARP, Congress created an independent inspector general, a regulatory oversight board and a congressional oversight panel.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2020
Kashkari, 42, lost to Gov. Jerry Brown last year but is best known nationally for running the $700-billion bank bailout initiative known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, from 2008 to 2009.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2015
The costumes were just plastic masks and tarps costing a few dollars apiece, and you could toss them out after the big night—no need to hang onto them year-round.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
An equipment box labeled “Garden Party”! Mysterious shapes covered in black-plastic tarps!
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
Amidst the tarps and makeshift barbecue, a lady named Maggie said she is hoping to find somewhere permanent after 10 years on the street.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
To create a movement, though, Pratt does not need to know what causes seas of tarps and tents.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
We watched them start to take the tarps off the field.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
