tar pit
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
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.
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
But the asphalt of a tar pit is rich in very old carbon, which is largely devoid of carbon-14.
From Science Magazine • Aug. 16, 2023
Bettison-Varga says the reimagining will “reframe” how the community experiences the museum, all the way down to the depiction of an Ice Age tar pit.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2023
But thanks to the federal and local governments, an administrative tar pit made it extremely difficult for the private investors to build their energy plants.
From Slate • Jan. 27, 2021
And finally, Lord Fredrick’s father, Edward Ashton, said to have drowned in a tar pit but whose body had never been found.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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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.