asphalt

American  

[as-fawlt, -falt] / ˈæs fɔlt, -fælt /

noun

1. any of various dark-colored, solid, bituminous substances, native in various areas of the earth and composed mainly of hydrocarbon mixtures.

2. a similar substance that is the by-product of petroleum-cracking operations.

3. a mixture of such substances with gravel, crushed rock, or the like, used for paving.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or pave with asphalt.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or containing asphalt.

   asphalt tile.

asphalt British  

/ -fɔːlt, ˈæʃ-, ˈæsfælt /

noun

1. any of several black semisolid substances composed of bitumen and inert mineral matter. They occur naturally in parts of America and as a residue from petroleum distillation: used as a waterproofing material and in paints, dielectrics, and fungicides

2. a mixture of this substance with gravel, used in road-surfacing and roofing materials

3. (modifier) containing or surfaced with asphalt

---

verb

1. (tr) to cover with asphalt

asphalt Scientific  

/ ăs′fôlt′ /

1. A thick, sticky, dark-brown mixture of petroleum tars used in paving, roofing, and waterproofing. Asphalt is produced as a byproduct in refining petroleum or is found in natural beds.

---

Other Word Forms

• asphaltic adjective
• asphaltlike adjective
• unasphalted adjective

Etymology

Origin of asphalt

1275–1325; earlier asphaltos, -um < Latin < Greek ásphaltos, -on, akin to asphalízein to make firm, to secure; replacing Middle English aspaltoun ≪ Greek ásphalton

Example Sentences

Reyne took over as night watchman, with his tent on the asphalt in the parking lot behind.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

What the pair found was a desert highway that rolls up and down, like an asphalt serpent, with deadly blind peaks and treacherous hidden troughs.

From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026

These days, transforming the asphalt landscape into a sandy oasis takes about a week, with almost 900 tonnes of sand – that's about six blue whales or 70 double-decker buses – trucked in.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

For almost 10 years, he said he was blacklisted by Chavez’s oil managers, who barred him from directly buying supplies from state energy monopoly PdVSA, forcing him to work through government-allied intermediaries to acquire asphalt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

The chariot wheels bounced over the uneven asphalt, each time hanging in the air a little longer.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• blacktop