(lowercase) a road, airport runway, parking area, etc., paved with Tarmac, tarmacadam, or a layer of tar.
(lowercase) a layer or covering of Tarmac, tarmacadam, or tar.
Full name: tarmacadam. a paving material that consists of crushed stone rolled and bound with a mixture of tar and bitumen, esp as formerly used for a road, airport runway, etc See also macadam
a runway at an airport
on the tarmac at Nairobi airport
If your airplane is on the tarmac, that means you're either just about to take off or you've just landed. Either way, the tarmac is the paved runway at the airport. The term tarmac refers to the area of an airport where airplanes taxi, or pull up to a gate, or head out to the runway. The runway itself is also called the tarmac. The name comes from a specific tar-based paving material that's also commonly used on roads. Originally, the word was trademarked as shorthand for tarmacadam, "tar mixed with crushed rock."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a brief Tarmac Q&A with traveling press on Thursday—a minimal effort to relieve growing tensions about her availability—Harris said that she wants “to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.”
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2024
When it comes to cycling, Wellingborough doesn't exactly lay out the red Tarmac.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2020
“Nothing excites compassion, in friend and foe alike,” he wrote, “as much as the sight of you ker-splonked on the Tarmac with your propeller buried six feet under.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2016
Tarmac softens in hot weather which would likely cause a heavy airplane to sink into it.
From Forbes ● Sep. 18, 2014
Tarmac The line of departure on the field.
From Aces Up by Clarke, Covington
"Any given day out at our airport, there will be 80 to 100 private jets on the tarmac, primarily Yellowstone Club guests," says Corner.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
This was an era during which “you could just walk onto the tarmac without a ticket,” said Brendan Koerner, author of The Skies Belong to Us.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
They were standing behind him on the tarmac outside of Air Force One when he said it.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
Zambada said Guzmán López forced him onto the plane and then delivered him to FBI and Department of Homeland Security agents waiting on the New Mexico tarmac.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
A line of planes stood at the gates and on the tarmac, one of them painted with the bright red Virgin Atlantic symbol.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
