canvas

/ˈkænvəs/

//ˈkænvəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"canvas" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“canvas” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,532. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,532
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for paintings.

Corpus desk

Index EN-canvas · canvas · English

canvas · rank #7,532 · 8 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,532
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH bothered

Nearest frequency peer: bothered (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “canvas”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “canvas” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

canvas vs cava
67% similar
canvas vs caves
67% similar
canvas vs Casas
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for canvas
PropertyValue
Headwordcanvas
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkænvəs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,532
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “canvas”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).canvaslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “bothered” (#7,531), “canyon” (#7,533), “boarding” (#7,530). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “canvas” is #7,532. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around canvas (IPA /ˈkænvəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,532 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for canvas, with forms such as "acnvas", "canavs", and "cannvas". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "cava", "caves", "Casas", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English canevas, from Anglo-Norman, from Old Northern French canevas (compare Old French chanevas, chenevas) from a root derived from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis). Compare French canevas, resulting from a blend of the O… The correct English form is canvas, spelled C-A-N-V-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for paintings.
  2. 2
    A piece of such cloth stretched across a frame on which one may paint an artwork.
  3. 3
    A mesh of loosely woven cotton strands or molded plastic to be decorated with needlepoint, cross-stitch, rug hooking, or other crafts.
  4. 4
    A basis for creative work.
  5. 5
    A region on which graphics can be rendered.
  6. 6
    Sails in general.
  7. 7
    A tent.
  8. 8
    A rough draft or model of a song, air, or other literary or musical composition; especially one to show a poet the measure of the verses he is to make.
  9. 9
    Athletic shoes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how canvas appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The term canvas is very widely used, as well to denote the coarse fabrics employed for kitchen use, as for strainers, and wraps for meat, as for the best quality of ordinary table and shirting linen.
  2. She is painting a moonlight scene on the canvas.

Etymology

From Middle English canevas, from Anglo-Norman, from Old Northern French canevas (compare Old French chanevas, chenevas) from a root derived from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis). Compare French canevas, resulting from a blend of the Old French and a Picard dialect word, itself from Old Northern French. Doublet of cannabis and hemp.

This word in other languages

lona(Español)toile(Français)Leinen(Deutsch)tela(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acnvas
  • canavs
  • cannvas
  • canvsa
  • canvvas
  • cavnas
  • ccanvas
  • cnavas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of canvas - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

acnvas2canavs2cannvas1canvsa2canvvas1cavnas2ccanvas1cnavas2
Edit distance from "canvas"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "canvas"?
"canvas" is spelled C-A-N-V-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkænvəs/.
What does "canvas" mean?
As a noun, "canvas" means: A type of coarse cloth, woven from hemp (traditionally) or from cotton and polyesters, useful for making sails, tents, and overcoats or as a surface for paintings.
What words are commonly confused with "canvas"?
"canvas" is commonly confused with "cava", "caves", "Casas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "canvas"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "canvas" is /ˈkænvəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "canvas"?
From Middle English canevas, from Anglo-Norman, from Old Northern French canevas (compare Old French chanevas, chenevas) from a root derived from Latin cannabis, from Ancient Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis). Compare French canevas, resulting from a blen... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "canvas", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

canyon#7,533barack#7,527closes#7,541apples#7,522

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

cooler8 variantsQuebec8 variantsMonica8 variantsMumbai8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list