macadam

[muh-kad-uh m]

See more synonyms for macadam on Thesaurus.com

noun

a macadamized road or pavement.
the broken stone used in making such a road.

Origin of macadam

1815–25; named after J. L. McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer who invented it

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for macadam

shale, sand, stones, tailings, macadam, screenings, rocks

Examples from the Web for macadam

Contemporary Examples of macadam

Cool, dry weather; relatively but not totally flat terrain; soft running surfaces, like dirt, gravel or macadam.
Running the World
Michael Chertoff
July 25, 2009

Historical Examples of macadam

They are used as dust layers on earth, gravel and macadam surfaces.
American Rural Highways
T. R. Agg
MacAdam asked that he should at least be bound over to keep the peace.
Ireland as It Is
Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
Utilitarianism was too much for it, and its stones fell to Macadam.
Highways & Byways in Sussex
E.V. Lucas
They gained the macadam of the lane that led out from the park gate into the country.
Stubble
George Looms
Some wonderful records were made in these contests on the macadam.
Coaching Days & Ways
E. D. (Edward William Dirom) Cuming

British Dictionary definitions for macadam

macadam

noun

a road surface made of compressed layers of small broken stones, esp one that is bound together with tar or asphalt

Word Origin for macadam

C19: named after John McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer, the inventor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for macadam

1824, named for inventor, Scottish civil engineer John L. McAdam (1756-1836), who developed a method of levelling roads and paving them with gravel and outlined the process in his pamphlet "Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making" (1822). Originally, road material consisting of a solid mass of stones of nearly uniform size laid down in layers; he did not approve of the use of binding materials or rollers. The idea of mixing tar with the gravel began 1880s.