tarpaulin

American  

[tahr-paw-lin, tahr-puh-lin] / tɑrˈpɔ lɪn, ˈtɑr pə lɪn /

noun

• tarpaulins
  plural

1. a protective covering of canvas or other material waterproofed with tar, paint, or wax.

2. a hat, especially a sailor's, made of or covered with such material.

3. Rare. a sailor.

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tarpaulin British  

/ tɑːˈpɔːlɪn /

noun

1. a heavy hard-wearing waterproof fabric made of canvas or similar material coated with tar, wax, or paint, for outdoor use as a protective covering against moisture

2. a sheet of this fabric

3. a hat of or covered with this fabric, esp a sailor's hat

4. a rare word for seaman

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tarpaulins
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tarpaulin

1595–1605; earlier tarpauling. See tar ¹, pall ¹, -ing ¹

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Explanation

A tarpaulin is a heavy, waterproof piece of fabric that's used as a protective cover or shelter. You might drape a tarpaulin over your tent when it starts raining in the middle of your camping trip. Or you can just go home. Tarpaulins are often called tarps for short. The word probably includes tar because of the original method for waterproofing a tarpaulin, which involved spreading tar on a heavy piece of canvas. The pall part means "cloth." During the 19th century, it was common to abbreviate the word as paulin, especially in nautical terminology.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tarpaulin tarpaulins

Three rooms were crammed with plants growing behind tarpaulin screens under bright lights.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Some of her neighbours are covering their cars in tarpaulin to protect them from the bird; one is rumoured to have spent £800 on repairs.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

A tarpaulin covered the court to make sure people couldn’t observe his lengthy matches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

Gone is the tarpaulin roof: The Bird Cage is now a fully enclosed, soundstage-like structure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

The tarpaulin was made of tough, treated canvas, rough on the skin after a while.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

AFP saw several residents of the small town of Mbay, in Nagekeo regency nearest the epicentre, camped out in makeshift tents they had erected using tarpaulins and poles.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

During the day, hunger strikers lie on mattresses under tarpaulins, with portraits of BR Ambedkar and freedom fighters behind them.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Doctors and forensic experts in the port examined bodies under tarpaulins held up by four poles before issuing death certificates and cremation authorizations.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Nearly 270,000 tents and tarpaulins have been brought into Gaza since August, according to COGAT, although the breakdown and quality of the items couldn’t be determined.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2025

The bus stopped in front of a posada and many of the passengers got down, and a lot of the baggage was unstrapped from the roof from under the big tarpaulins and lifted down.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

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