tarpaulin
Americannoun
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a protective covering of canvas or other material waterproofed with tar, paint, or wax.
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a hat, especially a sailor's, made of or covered with such material.
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Rare. a sailor.
noun
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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
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a sheet of this fabric
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a hat of or covered with this fabric, esp a sailor's hat
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a rare word for seaman
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tarpaulin
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.
Vocabulary lists containing tarpaulin
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 3
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The Bridge Home
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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.
Tarpaulin and plastic sheets made for temporary shelters for a lucky few while thousands of others spent a third night in the cold.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023
Tarpaulin sags from the roof over a rain-induced hole, the intermittent streamers shimmering overhead seemingly an antidote to the unsightly spectre.
From The Guardian • Jul. 10, 2015
Tarpaulin roofs have been covered with mud bricks as homes have morphed into permanent settlements.
From BBC • Aug. 11, 2014
But first, we put into Tarpaulin Cove, halfway up the sound, to enjoy the view of the lighthouse and the small beach.
From Time Magazine Archive
Little by little Seal Island sank behind them and the familiar outlines of Tarpaulin loomed clearer and higher.
From Jim Spurling, Fisherman or Making Good by Tolman, Albert Walter
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.
