tar ‧ pau ‧ lin /tɑːˈpɔːlən, tɑːˈpɔːlɪn $ tɑːrˈpɒː-/ BrE AmE especially British English , tarp /tɑːp $ tɑːrp/ American English noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: tarpaulin (17-21 centuries) , probably from tar + ⇨ ↑ pall 2 + -ing ]
a large heavy cloth or piece of thick plastic that water will not pass through, used to keep rain off things