What does tarpaulin mean?
Word: Tarpaulin
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Tarpaulin means a large sheet of heavy waterproof material used to cover things and keep out the rain.
How do you spell tarpaulin?
Syllables: tar - pau - lin
Tricky part: It finishes with -in and nothing after it, so tarpauline is the slip to watch for. The ending is very light in speech.
Watch out for: tarpauline, tarpaulen
Memory tip: Rain hits this cover and stops, so stop writing at the n as well.
Tarpaulin in a sentence
Example 1: We spread a tarpaulin on the ground and pitched our tents on it.
Example 2: The builders tied a blue tarpaulin over the unfinished roof.
Example 3: Monsoon rain drummed on the tarpaulin above the tea stall.
Fun Fact
Long before plastic sheets, tarpaulins were heavy canvas coated to keep out water, and sailing ships used them to cover the openings in their decks.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
tarp____lin
a) aw
b) oo
c) au
d) ou
Show answer
c) au. The middle vowel sound is spelt as in cause and August.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ar' pronounced differently?
a) garden
b) tarpaulin
c) market
d) warm
Show answer
d) warm. In warm the letters sound like the or of born; the others have the ar of car.
Word Tally
You get 3 marks for each correctly spelt word in the list. How many marks do you get?
tarpaulin, canvas, raincot, umbrela, plastik
a) 6
b) 3
c) 12
d) 9
Show answer
a) 6. Only tarpaulin and canvas are right, so 2 x 3 = 6.
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
Workers stretched a terpaulin over the cricket pitch as dark clouds gathered above the stadium.
a) the strip of ground where a batter faces the bowler
b) masses of tiny water drops floating in the sky
c) a tough sheet laid over something to keep it dry
d) a large sports ground with rows of seats around it
Show answer
c) a tough sheet laid over something to keep it dry. Look at the cover: it should open with the letters of the black road material.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. During the monsoon, why might a farmer tie a tarpaulin over sacks of rice?
a) to show the price to the buyers
b) to help the rice grains to sprout
c) to make the sacks easier to lift
d) to stop the grain from getting wet
Show answer
d) to stop the grain from getting wet
2. Where are you most likely to see a tarpaulin?
a) pinned to a school notice board
b) spread under a dining-room carpet
c) stretched over the back of a lorry
d) wrapped round a birthday present
Show answer
c) stretched over the back of a lorry
