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:
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
Quietly, Chip folds up the tarp, drops it into the trash and walks away.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“It is just heartbreaking to see these totally innocent creatures, in various states of decomposition, be taken out and put on a tarp and put in the black plastic garbage bag for evidence,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Video and images broadcast on state television showed Silva standing under a makeshift tarp and guarded by Venezuelan soldiers as he addressed a group of miners on new mining policies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
He walked over to Lily, holding the folded tarp pressed against his chest.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
Congress did pass legislation, TARP, with two components.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 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
“It started with that vote,” he said of TARP.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2018
Kashkari received mixed reviews from his six-month stint as the first administrator of TARP, the controversial program that ended up turning a modest profit for the federal government.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2015
And unlike Mr. Stevens, Mr. McConnell comfortably won re-election in worst-case circumstances in 2008, just one month after shepherding TARP, the bank bailout package, to passage in the Senate.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2014
An equipment box labeled “Garden Party”! Mysterious shapes covered in black-plastic tarps!
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
To create a movement, though, Pratt does not need to know what causes seas of tarps and tents.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
Millions of people have fled the fighting and are living cheek-by-jowl in displacement camps, under tarps and tents and with poor hygiene conditions.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Vendors there were hawking shoes, used power tools and watches under tattered blue tarps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
In the Oval Office, tarps were being spread out on the floor to protect the rug.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
