plural tarps
: a piece of material (such as durable plastic or waterproofed canvas) used especially for protecting exposed objects or areas : tarpaulin
The crewmen competed for a place to stand beneath the small tarp that covered part of the narrow deck.Matt Potts
This house, half of it's all burned up. They live there, the burned part's covered with a tarp, with their dogs, and they must have at least ten.Katya Reno

Examples of tarp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On a recent afternoon, Ms. Molin visited a small group of undocumented immigrants who had been living under a tarp in the woods behind an ice cream shop until a manager there threatened to call the police. Dionne Searcey, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025 Infrared footage posted to Utah Highway Patrol’s Instagram shows the pair waving at a rescue helicopter from the ledge in Snow Canyon State Park with what looks like a tarp or blanket draped over them, the video posted Feb. 19 shows. Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 21 Feb. 2025 On a cold, gloomy night Matthew finds a little boy named Seaver hidden under a tarp outside a closed business. Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 16 Feb. 2025 The fight centers on a piece of tarp that Lexi is using for her outfit, which despite her spray-painting does, in fact, mostly just look like a tarp. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tarp

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tarp was in 1906

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Cite this Entry

“Tarp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tarp. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

tarp

noun

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