macadam
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of macadam
1815–25; named after J. L. McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer who invented it
Vocabulary lists containing macadam
You Name It: Eponyms
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Some Obscure Eponyms
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Part 3 Vocabulary & Literary Terms (Unit 5)
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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.
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 • Mar. 29, 2021
You may note that good intentions are the macadam on the road to hell.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2015
It turns out it’s short for tarmacadam, or tar-penetration macadam.
From Forbes • Sep. 18, 2014
In all three cases we are offered what evidence of the truth cannot be avoided, and then it is quickly dispatched to oblivion by those laying down the macadam.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2014
A painted cattleguard, however, was just that: nothing more subtle or elaborate than a group of evenly spaced white stripes painted across a macadam road.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
