road metal

American

noun

British.

broken stone, cinders, etc., used for making roads.

road metal British

noun

crushed rock, broken stone, etc, used to construct a road

"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

Etymology

Origin of road metal

First recorded in 1810–20

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.

These were heterodox opinions, indeed, which South-eastern London could only receive with a strenuous counterblast of orthodox brickbats and sound Anglican road metal.

From Project Gutenberg

It is much used too for lime and road metal.

From Project Gutenberg

It is worked in many pits for road metal.

From Project Gutenberg

If the road metal be of soft material which wears easily, it will require constant supervision and small repairs whenever a rut or depression may appear.

From Project Gutenberg

Flints from the chalk are used for road metal and concrete, and have been employed in building as a facing for walls.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023