Showing results for "tar pit"

• a variation of tarpit.

tar pit

American  

[tahr pit] / ˈtɑr ˌpɪt /

noun

tar pits plural

1. an accumulation of natural tar or asphalt that has seeped upward to the earth's surface, especially one that has acted as a natural trap into which animals have fallen, sunk, and had their bones preserved.

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tar pit Scientific  

1. An accumulation of natural tar or asphalt at the Earth's surface, especially one that traps animals and preserves their hard parts. Tar pits form when petroleum in subterranean petroleum-bearing rocks oozes up to the surface. As it rises, the petroleum loses its volatile components, forming a thick tar or asphalt deposit.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tar pits
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tar pit

Today, Nike’s China business is flailing—a cautionary tale of an American giant caught in the tar pit of China’s hypercompetitive and increasingly nationalistic consumer market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

In 2018, he and colleagues started on an ambitious plan to radiocarbon date bones from a tar pit first excavated in the 1920s.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 16, 2023

Evening fell and the day’s gentle breeze died down, leaving the river as still as a tar pit.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2023

The tar pit park is open daily and free.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2021

Just ask a long-grieving widow whose husband drowned in a medicinal tar pit, or a plucky young governess who spent more than half her life wondering whether she might someday see her parents again.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood