tar pit

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.

Example Sentences

Economic growth is the only way out of the tar pit.

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

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

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

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Our oldest known graveyard is, of course, the La Brea tar pits.

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