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.

---

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

---

tar ¹ British  

/ tɑː /

noun

1. an informal word for seaman

---

tar ² 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

---

verb

1. to coat with tar

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

3. regarded as having the same faults

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.

---

tar More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tar

• beat the living daylights (tar) out of

---

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 tar²

First recorded in 1670–80; perhaps short for tarpaulin

Example Sentences

Although researchers cannot determine exactly who left it, they believe it may have been pressed into the tar during a repair by a crew member.

From Science Daily

And I didn't want Gus to be tarred with any of that, so at first you don't say anything and then I thought, I have to tell his friends and I have to tell people.

From BBC

Warren stayed on the boat, with a tin of tar paint and an enormous brush and Ratwin for company, and Nighthand led them into the city.

From Literature

Zed stands out in part because he didn’t get stuck in this tar like most of the dire wolves, sabertooth cats and 3,000-pound sloths embedded in the main pits.

From The Wall Street Journal

“This is a global location. People around the world come to see the tar pits.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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