variants
or less commonly canvas
canvassed; canvassing
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
3
obsolete
: to toss in a canvas sheet in sport or punishment
: to seek orders or votes : solicit
was canvassing for a seat in Congress
canvasser
noun
or less commonly canvaser
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
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
Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 18 Oct. 2024
Leibowitz conducted a survey at the end of January 2015, canvassing 238 Norwegians living across Norway and Svalbard.
—Cecilia Blomdahl, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
In July, two conservative groups, along with Arizona voter Karen Glennon, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State's Office and the Attorney General's Office over the speech restrictions and canvass provision, leading to Liburdi's ruling after oral arguments.
—Ray Stern, The Arizona Republic, 29 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvass 
Verb
Reports emerged on Thursday that a top Labour Party official is helping to arrange for roughly 100 current and former Labour staffers to canvass for Harris in key battleground states.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 18 Oct. 2024
Leibowitz conducted a survey at the end of January 2015, canvassing 238 Norwegians living across Norway and Svalbard.
—Cecilia Blomdahl, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
Local elections officials in the deep-red central Virginia district were wrapping up their canvass of the results of the June 18 primary, finding that McGuire and Good were neck and neck, with McGuire leading by just 373 votes.
—Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
In July, two conservative groups, along with Arizona voter Karen Glennon, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State's Office and the Attorney General's Office over the speech restrictions and canvass provision, leading to Liburdi's ruling after oral arguments.
—Ray Stern, The Arizona Republic, 29 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for canvass
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'canvass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near canvass
Cite this Entry
“Canvass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canvass. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
canvass
1 of 2 verb
can·vass
ˈkan-vəs 
: 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
canvassed also canvased; canvassing also canvasing
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
: to seek or solicit orders or votes
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