macadam
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of macadam
1815–25; named after J. L. McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer who invented it
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A tarry odor like hot macadam or turpentine, but with a woodsy edge.
From Literature
When the firefighters pulled up on Woodland Drive, the severed power lines were dancing in the street, showering it with sparks and melting the macadam.
From Washington Post
My steroid-addled auditory cortex had interpreted the drumming of my tires on macadam as the jazz song “Sunrise Serenade.”
From Washington Post
At the edge of the woods, where the grassy roadside banked above the macadam, they stopped to wait for an opening in the traffic.
From Literature
When the scallops are abundant, gulls pluck them from shallows, drop them on the macadam from a height, and swoop down to eat the meat from the cracked shell.
From New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
