tarpaulin

American  

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

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of tarpaulin

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

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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

He recounted how once they boarded the pirogue, he and the other passengers were covered with a tarpaulin: "I closed my eyes and thought of my mother," he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

Laurent Kone's wattle-and-daub house, with its tarpaulin roof and no electricity, lies down a bumpy red-earth track in western Ivory Coast.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

There are crumpled signs for hospital departments strewn on the ground and medical records drying on a tarpaulin between the admin offices.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

Richard Parker came up from beneath the tarpaulin.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel