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

And finally, Lord Fredrick’s father, Edward Ashton, said to have drowned in a tar pit but whose body had never been found.

Read more on Literature

It was nearly ten, but all this talk of lethal tar pits and strange illnesses had kept the children riveted.

Read more on Literature

Thousands have flocked to a rural town to see flaming tar barrels carried along its streets for Bonfire Night.

Read more on BBC

The Hungarian leader, who won the previous election in 2022 with promises to keep Hungary out of the war, is busy tarring Magyar as an agent of Ukrainian intelligence services.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Also worth noting: Warren Buffett did invest in Canadian tar sands but long since exited that position.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

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