canvas
can·vas/ˈkæn.vəs/noun, verb
canvas is spelled C-A-N-V-A-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables (can·vas). It appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “canvas vs canvass” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). 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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of canvas is canvases or canvasses.
How many letters and syllables are in canvas?
| Letters | 6: C-A-N-V-A-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: can·vas |
| In writing | 9.1 times per million words; the 7,553rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is canvas?
Canvas appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce canvas?
- /ˈkæn.vəs/
- /ˈkæn.væs/
Canvas has 2 syllables, split can·vas in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-canvass.wav, En-us-canvas.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with canvas
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: canvass (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: canvass.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of canvas
- canvases plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- canvasses plural
- canvass
- canvasing participle, present
- canvased participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does canvas mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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
A piece of such cloth stretched across a frame on which one may paint an artwork.
She is painting a moonlight scene on the canvas.
- 3
A mesh of loosely woven cotton strands or molded plastic to be decorated with needlepoint, cross-stitch, rug hooking, or other crafts.
- 4
A basis for creative work.
The author takes rural midwestern life as a canvas for a series of tightly woven character studies
- 5
A region on which graphics can be rendered.
- 6
Sails in general.
- 7
A tent.
He spent the night under canvas.
- 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.
verb
- 1
To cover (an area or object) with canvas.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Canvas in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | toile , canevas , toiler, entoiler |
| German | Leinen, Segeltuch, Canvas , Leinwand |
| Portuguese | lona , tela |
| Spanish | lona , lienzo, tela, brabante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does canvas come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).