tent

A tent is a temporary shelter made out of heavy material such as canvas. When you go camping, you might sleep in a camper, a rustic cabin, or a tent.

Tents can be lightweight enough to be carried by a hiker for miles, or much heavier and more cumbersome. As a verb, tent means either "stay in a tent" or "cover, as you do with a tent." So you might tent your head with a blanket to keep your crazy cat from attacking you, or tent a pie with aluminum foil to keep the crust from burning. Tent comes from a Latin root, tentus, meaning "stretched."

Definitions of tent
  1. noun
    a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
    “he pitched his tent near the creek”
    synonyms: collapsible shelter
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    types:
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    backpacking tent, pack tent
    a tent that can be carried in a backpack
    bell tent
    a bell-shaped tent
    cabana
    a small tent used as a dressing room beside the sea or a swimming pool
    canvas, canvas tent, canvass
    a tent made of canvas fabric
    cottage tent
    a tent providing shelter for a family
    fly tent
    a tent with a fly front
    lean-to tent
    tent that is attached to the side of a building
    mountain tent
    a lightweight tent with a floor; flaps close with a zipper
    marquee, pavilion
    large and often sumptuous tent
    pop tent
    a small tent that is easy to carry and quick to set up
    praetorium, pretorium
    the tent of an ancient Roman general
    pup tent, shelter tent
    a wedge-shaped tent; usually without a floor or windows
    pyramidal tent
    a large tent shaped like a pyramid; can hold half a dozen people
    teepee, tepee, tipi
    a Native American tent; usually of conical shape
    sealskin tent, tupek, tupik
    tent that is an Eskimo summer dwelling
    two-man tent
    a tent designed for occupancy by two persons
    umbrella tent
    a small tent with a single supporting pole and radiating metal ribs
    big top, circus tent, round top, top
    a canvas tent to house the audience at a circus performance
    field tent
    a canvas tent for use in the field
    Sibley tent
    a light conical canvas tent erected on a tripod with ventilation at the top
    wall tent
    a canvas tent with four vertical walls
    type of:
    shelter
    a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
  2. noun
    a web that resembles a tent or carpet
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    type of:
    web
    an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving
  3. verb
    live in or as if in a tent
    “The circus tented near the town”
    synonyms: bivouac, camp, camp out, encamp
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    type of:
    dwell, inhabit, live, populate
    inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of
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