tar

1 of 3

noun

ˈtär 

1

a

: a dark brown or black bituminous usually odorous viscous liquid obtained by destructive distillation of organic material (such as wood, coal, or peat)

b

: a substance in some respects resembling tar

especially : a condensable residue present in smoke from burning tobacco that contains combustion by-products (such as resins, acids, phenols, and essential oils)

2

[short for tarpaulin] : sailor

tar

2 of 3

verb (1)

tarred; tarring

transitive verb

1

: to cover with tar

2

: to defile as if with tar

least tarred by the scandal

—Newsweek

tar

3 of 3

verb (2)

ˈtär 

variants or tarre

tarred; tarring; tars or tarres

transitive verb

: to urge to action

—usually used with on

Phrases

tar and feather

: to smear (a person) with tar and cover with feathers as a punishment or indignity

tar with the same brush

: to mark or stain with the same fault or characteristic

Synonyms

Noun

• gob
• hearty
• jack
• jack-tar
• mariner
• navigator
• sailor
• salt
• sea dog
• seafarer
• seaman
• shipman
• swab
• swabbie [slang]
• swabby

Examples of tar in a Sentence

Noun

a book about the adventurous lives of tars, skippers, and pirates of the 18th century

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In this environment, the Road Runner, having outwitted Wile E. Coyote's traps in all those cartoons, would wind up flattened against the tar. —Tom Gliatto, People.com, 11 Dec. 2024

Turner warns him that there are still worse punishments menacing the Nickel inmates, ranging from the sweat box—a brutally hot crawl space under a tar roof—to actual murder. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2024

Verb

Second, perceptions of domestic political risk led even officials sympathetic to Third World aspirations to tread carefully lest they be tarred with coddling communism. —Erez Manela, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021

But the question of which artists to tar as complicit with their governments’ policies is not a simple one, and boycotts are a blunt instrument at best. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English terr, tarr, from Old English teoru; akin to Old English trēow tree — more at tree entry 1

Verb (2)

Middle English terren, tarren, from Old English tyrwan

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tar

• coal tar
• jack-tar
• juniper tar
• pine tar
• tar and feather
• tar baby
• tar paper
• tar pit
• tar sand
• tar with the same brush

Kids Definition

tar

1 of 2 noun

ˈtär 

1

a

: a dark usually thick sticky liquid obtained by distilling wood, coal, or peat

b

: a substance that resembles tar

especially : a sticky substance that is formed by burning tobacco

2

: sailor

tarlike

-ˌlīk

adjective

tar

2 of 2 verb

tarred; tarring

: to smear with or as if with tar

Medical Definition

tar

noun

ˈtär 

1

: any of various dark brown or black bituminous usually odorous viscous liquids obtained by destructive distillation of organic material (as wood, coal, or peat)

especially : one used medicinally (as to treat skin diseases) see coal tar, juniper tar, pine tar

2

: a substance in some respects resembling tar

especially : a condensable residue present in smoke from burning tobacco that contains combustion by-products (as resins, acids, phenols, and essential oils)

Geographical Definition

Tar

geographical name

ˈtär 

river 215 miles (346 kilometers) long in northeastern North Carolina see pamlico