canvass

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“
He now ran out his bow-chasers, and continued to fire upon me with them alone, not choosing to lose ground by rounding-to, to give me a broadside; and as his canvass was all out, and I was occasionally rounding-to to dismantle him, we retained much the same distance from one another.

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Definitions (32)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (8)

  1. transitive verb To examine carefully or discuss thoroughly; scrutinize: "The evidence had been repeatedly canvassed in American courts” (Anthony Lewis).
  2. transitive verb To go through (a region) or go to (persons) to solicit votes or orders.
  3. transitive verb To conduct a survey of (public opinion); poll.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (11)

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Examples (50)

  • Just a "re-canvass," which I guess just means making sure you entered in the right tallies. —  Ace of Spades HQ
  • On Sunday, a canvass will be held on behalf of Cleveland Families Count, an organization that sprung up to counter a repeal effort against the city's incipient domestic partner registry.
  • [13] After the initial canvass, which is the process by which counties resubmit to the Secretary of State the vote totals of local precincts from election day, Coleman's lead shrank to 221 votes because almost all of the "corrections" sent in by local election officials benefited Franken. —  The Heritage Foundation Papers
  • Based on the lists put together in the canvass, anyone who hasn't returned a census form by mail by mid-April next year will get a visit from a census worker, White said. —  CantonRep.com Home RSS
  • The entire canvass is the joke as opposed to merely the final panel. —  Comic Book Resources
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. From obsolete canvass, to toss in a canvas sheet as punishment, from canvas.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly canvas, being merely a particular use of canvas, v. (cf. Old French canabasser, “to canvas, curiously to examine, search or sift out the depth of a matter”—Cotgrave), literally sift as through canvas, this fabric in its coarser texture having been used as a sifting-cloth; from canvas, n. Cf. bolt, v., sift, examine, of similar origin.
  2. from canvass, v.
 

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/ˈkænvəs/
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