Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used as a painting surface, typically stretched, and on fashion handbags and shoes. The word canvas is derived from the 13th century Anglo-French canevaz and the Old-French canevas.

Both may be derivatives of the Vulgar Latin cannapaceus for "made of hemp". Modern canvas is usually made of cotton. It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as denim, in being plain weave rather than twill weave.

Canvas comes in two basic types: plain and duck. The threads in duck canvas are more tightly woven. The term 'duck' refers to the dutch word for cloth, 'doek'.

In the United States, canvas is classified in two ways: by weight (ounces per square yard) and by a graded number system. The numbers run in reverse of the weight;, so a number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4.

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