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definitions

tar

1
[ tahr ]
/ tɑr /
|

noun

any of various dark-colored viscid products obtained by the destructive distillation of certain organic substances, as coal or wood.
coal-tar pitch.
smoke solids or components: cigarette tar.

verb (used with object), tarred, tar·ring.

to smear or cover with or as if with tar.

adjective

of or characteristic of tar.
covered or smeared with tar; tarred.

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Nearby words

  1. tapster,
  2. tapu,
  3. taqiyah,
  4. taqlid,
  5. taqueria,
  6. tar and feather,
  7. tar baby,
  8. tar ball,
  9. tar boy,
  10. tar heel

Idioms

Origin of tar

1
before 900; (noun) Middle English tarr(e), ter(re), Old English teru; cognate with Dutch, German teer, Old Norse tjara; akin to tree; (v.) Middle English terren, Old English tierwian, derivative of the noun
Related formsnon·tarred, adjectiveun·tarred, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for tarred with the same brush

tar

1
/ (tɑː) /

noun

any of various dark viscid substances obtained by the destructive distillation of organic matter such as coal, wood, or peat
another name for coal tar

verb tars, tarring or tarred (tr)

to coat with tar
tar and feather to punish by smearing tar and feathers over (someone)
tarred with the same brush regarded as having the same faults
Derived Formstarry, adjectivetarriness, noun

Word Origin for tar

Old English teoru; related to Old Frisian tera, Old Norse tjara, Middle Low German tere tar, Gothic triu tree

tar

2
/ (tɑː) /

noun

an informal word for seaman

Word Origin for tar

C17: short for tarpaulin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for tarred with the same brush
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for tarred with the same brush

tar

[ tär ]

A dark, oily, viscous material, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as wood, coal, or peat.
See coal tar.
A solid, sticky substance that remains when tobacco is burned. It accumulates in the lungs of smokers and is considered carcinogenic.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with tarred with the same brush

tarred with the same brush

Having the same faults or bad qualities, as in He may be lazy, but if you ask me his friends are all tarred with the same brush. This term is thought to come from sheep farming, where the animals' sores were treated by brushing tar over them, and all the sheep in a flock were treated in the same way. The term was transferred to likeness in human beings in the early 1800s.

tar

In addition to the idiom beginning with tar

  • tar and feather

also see:

  • beat the living daylights (tar) out of
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.