Canvas vs canvass
Canvas is a noun for strong cloth, like the cloth artists paint on. Canvass is a verb that means to go around asking people for votes, opinions, or money.
Canvass has an extra s for seeking support. Canvas, with one s, is the cloth.
canvas noun
Strong, rough cloth used for tents and sails, or a piece of it stretched on a frame for painting.
- She primed the canvas before starting her portrait.
- We slept in a canvas tent on our camping trip.
canvass verb
To go around asking many people for votes, opinions, or money.
- Volunteers canvassed the neighborhood before the election.
- The team will canvass local shops for donations to the food bank.
Watch out
- The two words sound exactly the same, so only the spelling and the meaning tell them apart.
- Canvass can also be a noun for the effort of asking many people for votes or money.The campaign's canvass covered every neighborhood in the city.
- The usual plural of canvas is canvases. Canvasses is mainly a form of the verb canvass, as in she canvasses voters.The painter stacked her finished canvases against the studio wall.
Test yourself
The artist stretched a new blank over the wooden frame.
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canvas. The artist needs cloth to paint on.
Campaign workers will blank every street in town before the vote.
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canvass. The workers are going around asking voters for support.
Our tent is made of heavy blank that keeps out the rain.
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canvas. The tent is made of strong cloth.
The charity plans to blank the whole town for donations.
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canvass. The charity will go around asking people for money.