asphalt
Americannoun
-
any of various dark-colored, solid, bituminous substances, native in various areas of the earth and composed mainly of hydrocarbon mixtures.
-
a similar substance that is the by-product of petroleum-cracking operations.
-
a mixture of such substances with gravel, crushed rock, or the like, used for paving.
verb (used with object)
-
asphalts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
asphalted,
past participle, past
-
asphalting
present participle
adjective
noun
-
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
-
a mixture of this substance with gravel, used in road-surfacing and roofing materials
-
(modifier) containing or surfaced with asphalt
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
asphaltsimple
-
asphaltssimple
-
have asphaltedperfect
-
has asphaltedperfect
-
am asphaltingprogressive
-
are asphaltingprogressive
-
is asphaltingprogressive
-
have been asphaltingperfect progressive
-
has been asphaltingperfect progressive
Past
-
asphaltedsimple
-
had asphaltedperfect
-
was asphaltingprogressive
-
were asphaltingprogressive
-
had been asphaltingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
Asphalt is the black, tarry material that's often used to pave roads or fill in potholes. Your neighbor might decide to coat his driveway in asphalt. Asphalt is a popular substance for paving roads, parking lots, and even airport runways, because it's sturdy and easy to repair. When old asphalt roads are torn up or repaved, the asphalt can be reused in new highway or road projects. Asphalt is usually manufactured from oil, or petroleum, but there are more ecologically friendly ways to make it, including using molasses, rice, or potato starch.
Vocabulary lists containing asphalt
Black and Gray
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The Thing About Jellyfish
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List 3
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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.
See Examples For:
It “addresses the effects of concrete, asphalt and other impervious surfaces that cover the urban landscape in these two watersheds, to protect water quality in the creeks, rivers and beaches downstream,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Remember the Tour cyclist who abandoned his bicycle and decided to run up the mountain instead, clackety-clacking over hot asphalt in his plastic shoes?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
And as “Blow Out” reminds us, all it takes to be pulled into this vicious riptide is the squeal of a shot-out tire skidding against the asphalt.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Pets are also at risk, with authorities recommending dogs remain indoors except for bathroom breaks, and warning owners to watch for hot asphalt that can burn paws.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Marti had brought a duplicate copy of the asphalt rock and offered riveting details of her capture.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
He also is developing what he says should be more-affordable pothole-resistant pavements, using non-petroleum "bio asphalts" derived from waste materials such as corn stalks and switch grass.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2010
Oil asphalts are used for dust layers, for binders for macadam roads, for asphalt cements for sheet pavement surfaces, and for fillers for block pavements and expansion joints.
From American Rural Highways by T. R. (Thomas Radford) Agg
The asphalts, then, have a common history in this, that they are produced by the evaporation and oxidation of petroleum.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 362, December 9, 1882 by Various
Such is, in fact, the case; and these older asphalts are represented by Grahamite, Albertite, etc., which I have designated as asphaltic coals.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 362, December 9, 1882 by Various
Both coal tars and water gas tars of semi-solid consistency are also employed for the same class of construction as the liquid asphalts.
From American Rural Highways by T. R. (Thomas Radford) Agg
"For some reason," a deputy writes, "Brunner believes the asphalted driveway … is now his property."
From Salon ● Nov. 17, 2022
The next day, traffic flowed over the newly asphalted road, and life in the capital had returned to near normal.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2022
It is said to be the highest asphalted road in the Pyrenees.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 11, 2021
Starting with Chinatown, earthen basements were concreted, concrete ones flooded with carbolic acid, walls washed with lye, streets asphalted, cesspools filled and decrepit dwellings demolished.
From Nature ● Apr. 23, 2019
He should then go up Second Avenue, which is asphalted to Twenty-second Street, turn east into Lexington, and go up the latter to Thirty-second Street.
From Harper's Round Table, April 30, 1895 by Various
The BR-163 connects the agricultural powerhouse state of Mato Grosso to the Amazon ports Miritituba and Santarém, and in November the army finished asphalting its last unpaved section.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2020
At the Arena Amazonia, where England will play their opening game against Italy on Saturday, workers are still asphalting the ground outside the stadium, fitting doors and fixing power cables in the changing room.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 11, 2014
"We are happy and thankful to the foreigners for asphalting the 100km Ghorband-Kabul road," says Haji Ahmad, a truck driver from Shinwari.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2012
To remedy this, the asphalting was taken up and a Nicholson wood pavement was put down.
From The Enchanted Typewriter by John Kendrick Bangs
Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges.
From The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
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.
