canvas
/ˈkæn.vəs/ noun C1- 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.
- 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.
- A tent. · He spent the night under canvas.
- A rough draft or model of a song, air, or other literary or musical composition; especially one to show a poet the measure of the verses he is to make.
Plural canvases
From the library
They had a large canvas bag, which tied up at the mouth with strings: into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon it.)
Every idea that had been brought forward by the housekeeper was favourable to his character; and as she stood before the canvas, on which he was represented, and fixed his eyes upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment of gratitude than it had ever raised before: she remembered its warmth, and softened its impropriety of expression.
This oath was no longer a vain menace; for the fastest sailor in the Mediterranean would have been unable to overtake the little tartan, that with every stitch of canvas set was flying before the wind to Leghorn.
We are carrying too much canvas.
Other matches
Learn canvas in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.