tarp
Americannoun
acronym
noun
Etymology
Origin of tarp
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; by shortening
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.
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
Mr. Wink conjures a land of “trees like skyscrapers, like celestial tent pegs pounded into the earth to hold the black tarp of the sky in place.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Every few seconds, he curled up inside, then climbed back out to wrestle with the flapping tarp.
From Salon • Nov. 21, 2025
Brian’s home sits on a dirt lot, where several chickens peck at the weeds next to a table under a large tarp that blocks the sun during hot summer months.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025
We’d had to switch to a wheelbarrow, covered with a tarp, because she was too heavy to carry in the basket.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
