tarmac
pronunciation
How to pronounce tarmac in British English:
UK [ˈtɑ:mæk]
How to pronounce tarmac in American English:
US [ˈtɑrmæk]
-
- Noun:
- a paving material of tar and broken stone; mixed in a factory and shaped during paving
- a paved surface having compressed layers of broken rocks held together with tar
-
- Verb:
- surface with macadam
Word Origin
- tarmac
- tarmac: [20] The term tarmac commemorates the name of John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), a Scottish civil engineer who developed a method of levelling roads and covering them with gravel. Setting the gravel in tar produced in the 1880s the term tarmacadam, and in 1903 the abbreviated form tarmac was registered as a trademark. By 1919 the word was being used in British English as a synonym for ‘runway’.
- tarmac (n.)
- 1903, Tarmac, a trademark name, short for tarmacadam (1882) "pavement created by spraying tar over crushed stone," from tar (n.1) + John L. McAdam (see macadam). By 1919, tarmac was being used generally in Great Britain for "runway."
Example
- 1. And , indeed , it was nearly three hours on the tarmac before liftoff .
- 2. Hebei is a much poorer province . On its side of the mountain the road narrows and the tarmac deteriorates .
- 3. The result was that reynolds was left standing on the tarmac at shannon . Why didn 't he call on quinlan ?
- 4. About a dozen planes are sitting on the tarmac , with another 20 on the grass .
- 5. After bush deplaned , he was greeted by an honor guard on the tarmac .