canvass

1 of 2

verb

can·​vass ˈkan-vəs How to pronounce canvass (audio)
variants or less commonly canvas
canvassed; canvassing
Synonyms of canvass

transitive verb

1
: to go through (a district) or go to (persons) in order to solicit orders or political support or to determine opinions or sentiments
canvass voters
canvassed the neighborhood to solicit magazine subscriptions
2
a
: to examine in detail
specifically : to examine (votes) officially for authenticity
b
: discuss, debate
canvassed all the items on the agenda
3
obsolete : to toss in a canvas sheet in sport or punishment

intransitive verb

: to seek orders or votes : solicit
was canvassing for a seat in Congress
canvasser noun
or less commonly canvaser

canvass

2 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly canvas
: the act or an instance of canvassing
especially : a personal solicitation of votes or survey of public opinion
a house-to-house canvass to ascertain the vote before the election

Synonyms of canvass

Relevance

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of canvass in a Sentence

Verb A team of volunteers is canvassing the city for the Republican Party. We go to every house to canvass voters. She is canvassing for one of the presidential candidates this year. The group has been canvassing neighborhoods to ask people to vote for him. The company canvassed several sites for a new factory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The coalition has been canvassing the state, visiting churches, grocery stores and neighborhoods to talk to residents about the issue and gathering 3,500 signatures to present to lawmakers in hopes of inspiring legislative change. — Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026 The political opposition could still freely canvass, freely campaign, freely corral new voters into their camps. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Noun
Detectives are working to obtain search warrants and conduct canvasses and interviews, according to the East Windsor Police Department. — Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026 Investigators are conducting an extensive video canvass expanding outward from the crime scene to reconstruct the suspect’s movements, police said. — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for canvass

Word History

Etymology

Verb

see canvas entry 1

Noun

see canvas entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1508, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Noun

circa 1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of canvass was in 1508

Rhymes for canvass

See All Rhymes for canvass

Browse Nearby Words

canvas panel
canvass
canvasser
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Canvass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvass. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

canvass

1 of 2 verb
can·​vass ˈkan-vəs How to pronounce canvass (audio)
: to go through (a district) or go to (people) to ask for votes, contributions, or orders or to determine public opinion
canvasser noun

canvass

2 of 2 noun
: an act of canvassing

Legal Definition

canvass

verb
can·​vass
variants also canvas
ˈkan-vəs How to pronounce canvass (audio)
canvassed also canvased; canvassing also canvasing

transitive verb

1
a
: to examine in detail
specifically : to examine (votes) officially for authenticity
b
: to make the subject of discussion or debate
2
: to go through (a district) or go to (persons) in order to solicit orders or political support or to determine opinions or sentiments

intransitive verb

: to seek or solicit orders or votes

More from Merriam-Webster on canvass

Nglish: Translation of canvass for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All