tarp
Americannoun
acronym
noun
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.
As a blue tarp was pulled off it, audience members could hear a snapping noise as the bronze figure it was shrouding suddenly appeared to drop in height.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
A statue of Chavez erected on the Fresno State University campus was covered Wednesday by a black tarp and plastic, Bakersfield Now reported.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
A memorial that has sprung up in front of the bar, loaded with flowers, candles and messages of grief and support, was covered in an igloo-like tarp Thursday to protect it from the heavy snowfall.
From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026
Uphill from the swollen Wenatchee River, 62-year-old Lisa Hart sat in her recently deceased parents’ kitchen, watching friends drape a tarp over the roof.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
“David, stay here, like I instructed you. I’ll drive you out under the tarp, same as the way we came in. Don’t make a sound.”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions 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.
