Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use canvass in a sentence

17 example sentences · verb, noun

Canvass means to thoroughly examine or investigate (something) physically or by discussion; to debate, to gather opinion, to scrutinize. Example: “The police are canvassing the neighbourhood for information about the missing child.”

Examples of canvass by meaning

verbTo seek or solicit donations, information, opinions, support, etc. from (people or a place).

  • The police are canvassing the neighbourhood for information about the missing child.
  • The Manchester & East Midlands Rail Action partnership has been leafleting homes to canvass support for its reopening campaign.2023 January 11, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: North West”, in RAIL, number 974, page 18

verbTo seek the support of (voters or a constituency) in a forthcoming election or poll through personal solicitation or...

  • The electoral candidate canvassed the district for votes.
  • Fuentes acknowledged that he had no plans to canvass young voters in person.2026 April 13, Robert Draper, “After Charlie Kirk’s Death, a Fight for the Youth Vote”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the...

verbTo seek or solicit donations, information, opinions, support, etc.; to conduct a survey.

  • ADAM BERENDT, who canvassed through Rockland County on behalf of education, environmental, and gun control bond issues.2001, Joyce Carol Oates, “Prologue: Fourth of July”, in Middle Age: A Romance, New York, N.Y.: Ecco, →ISBN, section 7, page 5

nounA scrutiny of the votes cast in an election to reject irregular votes; also, a tally, audit, and certification of votes.

  • The canvasses are open to the public.2024 August, State of Maryland, Maryland State Board of Elections, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2025, retrieved 18 Oct 2024

More sentences with canvass

  • Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) led canvassing to support her in Baltimore last week.2024 October 4, Katie Shepherd, “Obama backs Alsobrooks, says Senate control ‘could come down’ to Md.”, in The Washington Post. From the entry phone bank
  • Cold canvassing was the most dreaded exercise for most insurance salesmen.2019, Kelly D. Harrison, Air Force Cop: An Autobiography, page 100. From the entry cold
  • The one thing considered the brass ring in selling insurance was making a sale on a cold canvass.2019, Kelly D. Harrison, Air Force Cop: An Autobiography, page 100. From the entry cold
  • Volunteers were signed into a Whatsapp account and details of where and when they would canvass were posted there every day.2016, Gráinne Healy, Brian Sheehan, Noel Whelan, “Tomorrow Will Be Different: Building a Canvassing Army” (chapter 5), in Ireland Says…. From the entry whatsapp
  • “He wanted to eradicate graffiti, but if you keep buffing out walls, artists consider it a blank canvass.”2012, The North Bay Nugget, Filmmaker hits streets for latest project. From the entry buff out
  • I tried canvassing for a paint company, and failed.2003, Jim Penman, What will they franchise next?: the story of Jim's Group. From the entry telemarket
  • The only person actually canvassing is P.1920, Cicero, translated by Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh, The Letters of Cicero: The Whole Extant Correspondence in Chronological Order…. From the entry candidature
  • I’ve canvassed enough to know that it is usually the wiveless men who shout the most about the wife.1920, Oreola Williams Haskell, Banner Bearers: Tales of the Suffrage Campaigns, page 124. From the entry wiveless
  • In preidentified census blocks, census enumerators canvassed the blocks, updated the address list, and delivered and completed census questionnaires for all housing units.2002, New York, 2000, page 510. From the entry preidentified
  • The political canvass had given freedom to his wings; he had learned to think on his feet, to meet interruption, to parry in debate.c. 1919, Elbert Hubbard, “Richard Cobden”, in Little Journeys, Volume 9: Great Reformers. From the entry think on one's feet
  • She'd seen their hunting parties canvassing the area, had prepared a few extra boltholes in case they found the one she'd shared with Yésica, but it hadn't proven necessary.2023 October 12, Harry Blank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 22 May 2024. From the entry bolthole

Meaning of canvass

  1. verb To thoroughly examine or investigate (something) physically or by discussion; to debate, to gather opinion, to scrutinize.
  2. verb To scrutinize (the ballot in an election or the votes cast) and reject irregular votes; also, to challenge or dispute (an election result).
  3. verb To seek or solicit donations, information, opinions, support, etc. from (people or a place).

Full definition of canvass

Questions about canvass in a sentence

How do you use canvass in a sentence?
Canvass is used as a verb and noun. For example: “The police are canvassing the neighbourhood for information about the missing child.”
What is a short sentence with canvass?
“The canvasses are open to the public.”
What does canvass mean?
Canvass means to thoroughly examine or investigate (something) physically or by discussion; to debate, to gather opinion, to scrutinize.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: canvass (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use canvass in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/canvass. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.