Definitions of canvas:

• noun:   heavy closely woven fabric (used for clothing or chairs or sails or tents)
• noun:   the mat that forms the floor of the ring in which boxers or professional wrestlers compete

  Example: "The boxer picked himself up off the canvas"

• noun:   an oil painting on canvas
• noun:   the setting for a narrative or fictional or dramatic account

  Example: "The crowded canvas of history"

• noun:   a tent made of canvas
• noun:   a large piece of fabric (as canvas) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel
• verb:   cover with canvas

  Example: "She canvassed the walls of her living room so as to conceal the ugly cracks"

• verb:   solicit votes from potential voters in an electoral campaign
• verb:   get the opinions (of people) by asking specific questions
• verb:   consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning