tar
1 Americannoun
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any of various dark-colored viscid products obtained by the destructive distillation of certain organic substances, as coal or wood.
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coal-tar pitch.
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smoke solids or components.
cigarette tar.
verb (used with object)
adjective
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of or characteristic of tar.
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covered or smeared with tar; tarred.
idioms
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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.
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tar and feather,
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to coat (a person) with tar and feathers as a punishment or humiliation.
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to punish severely.
She should be tarred and feathered for what she has done.
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tarred with the same brush, possessing the same shortcomings or guilty of the same misdeeds.
The whole family is tarred with the same brush.
noun
noun
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any of various dark viscid substances obtained by the destructive distillation of organic matter such as coal, wood, or peat
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another name for coal tar
verb
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to coat with tar
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to punish by smearing tar and feathers over (someone)
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regarded as having the same faults
noun
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A dark, oily, viscous material, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as wood, coal, or peat.
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See coal tar
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A solid, sticky substance that remains when tobacco is burned. It accumulates in the lungs of smokers and is considered carcinogenic.
Related Words
See sailor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
Tar is a very thick liquid that's used to cover road surfaces. You can't walk on fresh, hot tar—you have to wait until it's completely dry. Besides coating streets and parking lots, tar is also used to waterproof things like roofing shingles and wooden boats. Because it has disinfecting properties, you can sometimes find tar in soap, medicinal shampoos, and even as flavoring in candy and alcohol. When you tar something, you spread tar on it. Long ago, to tar and feather someone was to apply painfully hot, burning tar and feathers to their skin, as a brutal kind of vigilante punishment.
Vocabulary lists containing tar
Black and Gray
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3-letter words, List 2
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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.
Pike perch tartare from Lake Oulujärvi rests on malt bread with capers and dill oil and a whisper of pine tar.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
“Zed still has a little tar still seeping from his skull,” said Lori Bettison-Varga, director, “but we’re going to show him off, anyway.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
“This is a global location. People around the world come to see the tar pits.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026
"I think yes, if people are going to go bad, they go bad, but you can't tar a whole religion based on your prejudices."
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026
It couldn’t seem farther away from this hot tar roof and my shrink staring at my back, waiting for me to speak.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
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.
