canvasses
canvasses is the plural of canvas.
canvasses is the plural of canvass.
canvasses is the third-person singular simple present indicative of canvas.
canvasses is the third-person singular simple present indicative of canvass.
Meaning of canvas
Noun
canvas (plural canvases or canvasses)
- A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for paintings.
- The term canvas is very widely used, as well to denote the coarse fabrics employed for kitchen use, as for strainers, and wraps for meat, as for the best quality of ordinary table and shirting linen.1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 556
- A piece of such cloth stretched across a frame on which one may paint an artwork.
- She is painting a moonlight scene on the canvas.
- A mesh of loosely woven cotton strands or molded plastic to be decorated with needlepoint, cross-stitch, rug hooking, or other crafts.
- A basis for creative work.
- The author takes rural midwestern life as a canvas for a series of tightly woven character studies
- A region on which graphics can be rendered.
- Sails in general.
- The double desire of being able to overtake a weaker flying enemy, or to escape when pursued by a stronger, has induced the owners to overmast their cruisers, and to spread too much canvass; and the great number of men, many of them not seamen, who being upon deck when a ship heels suddenly are...1785 August, Benjamin Franklin, “On Improvements in Navigation”, in Jared Sparks, editor, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin, […], volume III, London: […] [Abraham John Valpy] for...
Meaning of canvass
Noun
canvass (countable and uncountable, plural canvasses)
- A seeking or solicitation of donations, information, opinions, support, etc.
- It is a wonder to ſee how ſlauiſhly theſe kinde of [ambitious] men will ſubiect themſelues, vvhen they are about a canvas, to euery inferiour perſon, vvhat paines they vvill take, runne, ride, caſt, plot & countermine, proteſt & ſvveare, vow, promiſe, vvhat labours vndergoe, earely vp, dovvne late...1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Concupiscible Appetite, as Desires, Ambitions, Causes”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield...
- A seeking or solicitation, or determination, of support or favourable votes in a forthcoming election or poll.
- And certainly, there is great difference, betvveen a Cunning Man, and a Wiſe Man; Not onely in Point of Honeſty, but in point of Ability. There be that can packe the Cards, and yet cannot play vvell; So there are ſome, that are good in Canuaſſes, and Factions, that are othervviſe VVeake Men.[1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Cunning. XXII.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC, page 127
- A scrutiny of the votes cast in an election to reject irregular votes; also, a tally, audit, and certification of votes.
- Elections officials [in California] have approximately one month (28 days for presidential electors and 30 days for all other contests) to complete their extensive tallying, auditing, and certification work (known as the ‘official canvass’). Most notably, voting by mail has increased significantly...2016 November 16, John Nichols, “Hillary Clinton’s Popular-vote Victory is Unprecedented—and Still Growing”, in The Nation, New York, N.Y.: The Nation Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
- A thorough discussion or investigation. (Possibly; the meaning is unclear.)
- […] I haue learned this faſhion of Sᵗ. Hierome the Oracle of Antiquitie, vvho vvas vvont to entertaine his Paula, and Euſtochium, Marcella, Principia, Hedibia, and other deuout Ladies, vvith learned canuaſes of the deep pointes of Diuinity.1611, Joseph Hall, “Epistle IIII. To My Lady Honoria Hay. Discoursing of the Necessity of Baptisme; and the Estate of Those which Necessarily Want It.”, in Epistles […], volume III, London: […]...
- Rejection (at an election, of a suit, etc.).
- But vvhy ſhouldſt thou take thy Canvas ſo to heart? It may bee thou art not fit. But as a childe that vveares his fathers ſhooes, hat, headpeece, breſtplate, or breeches; or holds his ſpeare, but is nether able to vveild the one, or vveare the other; ſo vvouldſt thou doe by ſuch an office or...1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Against Repulse, Abuses, Iniuries, Contempts, Disgraces, Contumelies, Slanders, Scoffes, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition...
Forms of canvasses
| alternative form | canvases |
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Phrases with canvasses
Questions about canvasses
- What is canvasses the plural of?
- Canvasses is the plural of canvas.
Words near canvasses in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: canvasses (page history and authors); canvas (page history and authors); canvass (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “canvasses.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/canvasses. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.