How to Use tarpaulin in a Sentence

tarpaulin

noun
Definition of tarpaulinnext
  • Then the rain comes, slow at first, then hard enough to have the tarpaulin rolled back into place.
    — Debbi Snook, cleveland, 3 Feb. 2023
  • The people of the village gathered as the sacks were laid out on a blue tarpaulin.
    — Roger Cohen Mauricio Lima, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2022
  • Many had laid out tarpaulins and squatted on the streets outside the court.
    — Vidhi Doshi, chicagotribune.com, 26 Aug. 2017
  • A few yards away, a large shelter of tarpaulins rippled in the wind.
    — BenoÎt Morenne, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2017
  • Daghash’s home is a tent made of blankets, tarpaulin and pieces of cardboard.
    — Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, 14 June 2018
  • Meanwhile, Addi has laid out a feast of oats on the tarpaulin under a tree for shade.
    — Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Jan. 2024
  • Most had camping chairs and some had a tarpaulin to sit under.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2022
  • At night in the refugee camps, with only a thin tarpaulin wall as protection, Mohammed waits for the men to come and kill him.
    — New York Times, 14 Nov. 2021
  • Most days, Nyine’s side of the family wasn’t in their blue tarpaulin home but at the Bigo clinic for wound checks.
    — Nick Turse, Teen Vogue, 14 Nov. 2018
  • The Rebel Kitchen is housed in four gazebos customised with various pieces of tarpaulin and lots of gaffa tape.
    — The Economist, 18 Oct. 2019
  • Tents, tarpaulins, food stalls and solar panels to charge mobile phones are laid out among rows of men bent in prayer.
    — The Economist, 7 Nov. 2019
  • The family strung a tarpaulin across the terrace and moved upstairs.
    — Sadiq Naqvi, Washington Post, 27 June 2022
  • One day my horse was much frightened at a drilling machine covered by a tarpaulin and lying on an open field.
    — Kat McGowan, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2012
  • The full list of items also includes tarpaulins, tie-down kits and ground anchor systems.
    — Elizabeth Koh, miamiherald, 1 June 2017
  • At the Second Battle of Bapaume, in August, 1918, he was shot through his right lung and was on the verge of bleeding to death when a medic swaddled him in a tarpaulin.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
  • The homes, funded by overseas donors, will have concrete floors, bamboo walls and tarpaulin roofs.
    — Washington Post, 2 May 2018
  • By the end, Tillerson was like a dead animal someone needed to pull a tarpaulin over.
    — New York Times, 17 Aug. 2022
  • It is made of steel, canvas, tarpaulin, timber and rope netting.
    — Georgia McCafferty, CNN, 12 July 2017
  • The inside is lined with water-resistant tarpaulin and has a padded lining to protect all of your gear.
    — Déjà Leonard, Popular Mechanics, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Women and children sleep below deck, watched over by a midwife, while the men sleep on the open deck, covered only with tarpaulin.
    — CNN, 12 June 2018
  • Some boys lived in two dozen tarpaulin tents in the bush, others in entire occupied towns, like Malam Fatori.
    — Sarah A. Topol Photographs By Glenna Gordon, New York Times, 21 June 2017
  • Guards found the thieves drunk and hiding under a tarpaulin, according to the Art Newspaper.
    — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2020
  • Gathered under tarpaulins baking in the sun, the women counsel one another and learn skills such as how to build a kitchen stove from clay.
    — Rodney Muhumuza, The Seattle Times, 9 June 2017
  • For now, the only thing on the site apart from the ruins of an old cottage is a small sign planted out in the bog, covered in a flapping blue tarpaulin, waiting to be unveiled.
    — James Hookway, WSJ, 22 Jan. 2022
  • Both statues were covered in black tarpaulins late last month as a symbol of mourning for Heather Heyer, the woman who was killed at the rally.
    — Alex Johnson, NBC News, 6 Sep. 2017
  • Most live in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters perched on hilly slopes that are vulnerable to strong winds, rain, and landslides.
    — Angus Watson, CNN, 14 May 2023
  • Many live in bamboo and tarpaulin shelters perched on hilly slopes that are vulnerable to strong winds, rain, and landslides.
    — Helen Regan, CNN, 12 May 2023
  • Spokesman Arifin Hadi said people need clean water and tarpaulins most of all.
    — Andi Jatmiko, Fox News, 9 Aug. 2018
  • The water oozed under the tarpaulin wall of his family’s makeshift shelter, turning the dirt floor to mud and soaking the sacks of rice that represented most of their food.
    — Shashank Bengali, latimes.com, 30 May 2018
  • The walls are hardwood but covered in thick beige tarpaulin that winds down like a tent but over glass windows, reminding guests that this is indeed a safari lodge.
    — Rooksana Hossenally, Forbes, 6 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tarpaulin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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