tarpaulin

[ tahr-paw-lin, tahr-puh-lin ]
See synonyms for tarpaulin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a protective covering of canvas or other material waterproofed with tar, paint, or wax.

  2. a hat, especially a sailor's, made of or covered with such material.

  1. Rare. a sailor.

Origin of tarpaulin

1
1595–1605; earlier tarpauling.See tar1, pall1, -ing1

Words Nearby tarpaulin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tarpaulin in a sentence

  • The statue of Joe Paterno has been removed, covered in a blue tarpaulin and carted off into the dust and dark of storage.

  • A tarpaulin stretched from wheel to wheel of the wagon shut out the driving rain that fled in sheets before the whooping wind.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • There was a rip and a crack, and the released tarpaulin was a hundred yards away, flapping grotesquely over the sandhills.

    Mushroom Town | Oliver Onions
  • The tarpaulin hung like a sheet between the Little Douvre and the bark, and sunk in the water.

    Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
  • There was a large tarpaulin in the launch, and this Alan wrapped about the girl's shoulders.

    The Fire People | Ray Cummings
  • The lads found that a pair of blankets had been assigned to each of them, with an ordinary wagon sheet doubled for a tarpaulin.

    The Pony Rider Boys in Texas | Frank Gee Patchin

British Dictionary definitions for tarpaulin

tarpaulin

/ (tɑːˈpɔːlɪn) /


noun
  1. a heavy hard-wearing waterproof fabric made of canvas or similar material coated with tar, wax, or paint, for outdoor use as a protective covering against moisture

  2. a sheet of this fabric

  1. a hat of or covered with this fabric, esp a sailor's hat

  2. a rare word for seaman

Origin of tarpaulin

1
C17: probably from tar 1 + pall 1 + -ing 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012