tarmac

1 of 2

noun

tar·​mac ˈtär-ˌmak 

: a tarmacadam road, apron, or runway

Tarmac

2 of 2

trademark

—used for a bituminous binder for roads

Examples of tarmac in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The $20 million capital improvement construction project included full demolition and reconstruction of the base’s aging tarmac and new underground fire-retardant reloading bays. — Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2026

This ribbon of tarmac in the Ardennes is one of the sport’s historic venues, featuring in the first F1 season way back in 1950. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 20 July 2026

Later that evening, Lidia and a group of other detainees were boarded onto a bus and driven to an airport tarmac. — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

In his way are his eternal rival Jonas Vingegaard, teenage French phenomenon Paul Seixas, 3,333km of tarmac, and over 54,000m of climbing. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from Tarmac, a trademark

First Known Use

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tarmac

• the tarmac

Rhymes for tarmac

• aback
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback
• cutback

Kids Definition

tarmac

noun

tar·​mac ˈtär-ˌmak 

: a road, apron, or runway paved with layers of crushed stone covered with tar