tar

¹ American  

[tahr] / tɑr /

noun

1. any of various dark-colored viscid products obtained by the destructive distillation of certain organic substances, as coal or wood.

2. coal-tar pitch.

3. smoke solids or components.

   cigarette tar.

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verb (used with object)

tarred, tarring

1. to smear or cover with or as if with tar.

adjective

1. of or characteristic of tar.

2. covered or smeared with tar; tarred.

idioms

1. beat / knock / whale the tar out of,  to beat mercilessly.

   The thief had knocked the tar out of the old man and left him for dead.

2. tar and feather,

   1. to coat (a person) with tar and feathers as a punishment or humiliation.

   2. to punish severely.

      She should be tarred and feathered for what she has done.

3. tarred with the same brush,  possessing the same shortcomings or guilty of the same misdeeds.

   The whole family is tarred with the same brush.

tar ² American  

[tahr] / tɑr /

noun

Informal: Older Use.

1. a sailor.

   Synonyms:

   gob , seafarer

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tar ¹ British  

/ tɑː /

noun

1. any of various dark viscid substances obtained by the destructive distillation of organic matter such as coal, wood, or peat

2. another name for coal tar

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verb

1. to coat with tar

2. to punish by smearing tar and feathers over (someone)

3. regarded as having the same faults

tar ² British  

/ tɑː /

noun

1. an informal word for seaman

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tar Scientific  

/ tär /

1. A dark, oily, viscous material, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as wood, coal, or peat.

2. See coal tar

3. A solid, sticky substance that remains when tobacco is burned. It accumulates in the lungs of smokers and is considered carcinogenic.

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tar More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tar

• beat the living daylights (tar) out of

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Related Words

See sailor.

Other Word Forms

• nontarred adjective
• tarriness noun
• tarry adjective
• untarred adjective

Etymology

Origin of tar¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ter, terr(e), Old English teru, teoru, taru; cognate with Dutch, German teer, Old Norse tjara; akin to tree; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of tar¹

First recorded in 1670–80; perhaps short for tarpaulin

Example Sentences

Economic growth is the only way out of the tar pit.

From The Wall Street Journal

American law enforcement was more interested in tarring King with whatever they could dig up than in protecting him.

From New York Times

To tar the entire American right as pro-Putin is a slur, much as old right-wing allegations about liberal softness on communism used to be.

From Seattle Times

“Epidemiology showed a relationship between tobacco smoking and cancer. The proof came from showing that painting tobacco tar on the skin of mice produced tumors,” Murray says.

From Scientific American

A morning at Boy Scout camp in the forests of northern New Jersey is embedded in my memory, fixed like a bone in the tar pits.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• besmirch
• blight
• cloud
• corrupt
• damage
• discredit
• harm
• hurt
• infect
• muddy
• poison
• pollute
• smear
• spoil
• stain
• sully
• tarnish