Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tarpaulin
1.
A piece of canvas covered with tar or a waterproof composition, used for covering the hatches of a ship, hammocks, boats, etc.
2.
A hat made of, or covered with, painted or tarred cloth, worn by sailors and others.
3.
Hence, a sailor; a seaman; a tar.
To a landsman, these
tarpaulins
, as they were called, seemed a strange and half-savage race. Macaulay.
Webster 1828 Edition
Tarpaulin
T`ARPAU'LIN
,Noun.
1.
A sailor; in contempt.Definition 2024
tarpaulin
tarpaulin
English
Noun
tarpaulin (plural tarpaulins)
- (countable) A tarp, a heavy, waterproof sheet of material, often cloth, used as a cover.
- Throw a tarpaulin over that woodpile before it gets wet.
- (countable, slang, archaic) A sailor. Often abbreviated to just tar.
- (uncountable, obsolete) Any heavy, waterproof material used as a cover.
- (uncountable, nautical, obsolete) Canvas waterproofed with tar, used as a cover.
- A hat made of, or covered with, painted or tarred cloth, worn by sailors and others.
Usage notes
- In the US, "tarp" has been more common than "tarpaulin" in print since about 1990.[1] In speech since at least 1970.
Derived terms
Translations
heavy, waterproof sheet of material
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sailor
any heavy, waterproof material used as a cover
canvas waterproofed with tar, used as a cover
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