tarpit

or tar pit

[ tahr-pit ]

/ ˈtɑrˌpɪt /

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noun

seepage of natural tar or asphalt, especially an accumulation that has acted as a natural trap into which animals have fallen and sunk and had their bones preserved.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of tarpit

First recorded in 1830–40; tar¹ + pit¹

How to use tarpit in a sentence

The State Department found that with high oil prices, the tar sands would be mined for oil, pipeline or no.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4|PunditFact.com|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Pulling oil from the tar sands is costly, even more so when you tack transportation costs on top.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4|PunditFact.com|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Therefore, we should—you guessed it—develop the Canadian tar sands and build the Keystone pipeline.
How Canadian Oilmen Pinkwash the Keystone Pipeline|Jay Michaelson|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So what of the photograph of what the Senate report described as a “well-used waterboard” with buckets around it, at the Salt Pit?
CIA Interrogation Chief: ‘Rectal Feeding,’ Broken Limbs Are News to Me|Kimberly Dozier|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He watched the pit grow bigger every month, despite the numerous reports he wrote about the facility.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With the management of these, however, the Earl of Pit Town did not trouble himself.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
At length the great Pit Town collection was housed as it deserved to be.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Old Pit Town knows lots of good people, and would give us letters, I suppose.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
This is not the first time in history when the lack of a ha'porth of tar has spoilt the ship of State.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Certes le capitaine Merveilles et ses gens monstrerent leur pit non vulgaire.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various

Scientific definitions for tarpit

tar pit

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.