tar

¹

[tahr]

noun

1. any of various dark-colored viscid products obtained by the destructive distillation of certain organic substances, as coal or wood.

2. coal-tar pitch.

3. smoke solids or components.

   cigarette tar.

verb (used with object)

tarred, tarring 

1. to smear or cover with or as if with tar.

adjective

1. of or characteristic of tar.

2. covered or smeared with tar; tarred.

tar

²

[tahr]

noun

Informal: Older Use.

1. a sailor.

   Synonyms: gob, seafarer

tar

¹

/ tɑː /

noun

1. any of various dark viscid substances obtained by the destructive distillation of organic matter such as coal, wood, or peat

2. another name for coal tar

verb

1. to coat with tar

2. to punish by smearing tar and feathers over (someone)

3. regarded as having the same faults

tar

²

/ tɑː /

noun

1. an informal word for seaman

tar

1. A dark, oily, viscous material, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as wood, coal, or peat.

2. See coal tar

3. A solid, sticky substance that remains when tobacco is burned. It accumulates in the lungs of smokers and is considered carcinogenic.

Other Word Forms

• nontarred adjective
• untarred adjective
• tarriness noun
• tarry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tar¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ter, terr(e), Old English teru, teoru, taru; cognate with Dutch, German teer, Old Norse tjara; akin to tree; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of tar²

First recorded in 1670–80; perhaps short for tarpaulin

Word History and Origins

Origin of tar¹

Old English teoru; related to Old Frisian tera, Old Norse tjara, Middle Low German tere tar, Gothic triu tree

Origin of tar²

C17: short for _tarpaulin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. beat / knock / whale the tar out of, to beat mercilessly.

   The thief had knocked the tar out of the old man and left him for dead.

2. tar and feather,

   1. to coat (a person) with tar and feathers as a punishment or humiliation.

   2. to punish severely.

      She should be tarred and feathered for what she has done.

3. tarred with the same brush, possessing the same shortcomings or guilty of the same misdeeds.

   The whole family is tarred with the same brush.

More idioms and phrases containing tar

• beat the living daylights (tar) out of

Synonym Study

See sailor.

Example Sentences

Or as close to saintly as anything involving tar sands can get.

Read more on MarketWatch

E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most damaging elements in tobacco smoke.

Read more on BBC

The images led to Fonda being tarred as “Hanoi Jane” and a traitor to the United States, which had deployed millions of American soldiers to Southeast Asia, many of whom never returned.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Turning wood waste into gas also generates a thick, black tar composed of volatile organic compounds — which are also common contaminants following wildfires.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He and Koons continued down the broad hall-like bridge, turning once more when they reached the far end above the tar pits.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• besmirch 
• blight 
• cloud 
• corrupt 
• damage 
• discredit 
• harm 
• hurt 
• infect 
• muddy 
• poison 
• pollute 
• smear 
• spoil 
• stain 
• sully 
• tarnish