canvas

A piece of strong cloth stretched over a frame for an artist to paint on.

• She painted a flower on the canvas.
• Two blank canvases stood in his studio.
• He stretched the canvas over a wooden frame.

How to use it: on canvas (She paints portraits on canvas.)

Common phrases: blank canvas, paint on canvas, large canvas

Strong, thick cloth used to make tents, bags, sails, and surfaces for painting.

• The bag is made of canvas.
• We bought a heavy canvas tent.
• Her canvas shoes dried in the sun.

Common phrases: canvas bag, canvas tent, canvas shoes

A setting, subject, or surface that gives someone a starting point for creative work.

• The garden is a canvas for your imagination.
• The city provided a rich canvas for his novel.
• These plain walls offer a canvas for bold designs.

How to use it: a canvas for something (The empty warehouse became a canvas for her ideas.)

Similar words: starting point, basis

Common phrases: canvas for something, creative canvas, blank canvas

A tent, especially when describing sleeping or staying outdoors.

• We slept under canvas.
• It was their first holiday under canvas.
• Would you spend a rainy night under canvas?

How to use it: under canvas (We spent the weekend under canvas.)

Similar words: tent

Common phrases: under canvas, sleep under canvas

To cover something with strong, thick cloth used for tents and sails.

• They canvas the deck each winter.
• The workers canvased the wooden roof.
• We need to canvas this frame before the rain comes.

Common phrases: canvas a roof, canvas a deck