bitumen

noun

bi·​tu·​men bə-ˈtyü-mən 

bī-,

-ˈtü-,

 especially British also  ˈbit-yə-

1

: an asphalt of Asia Minor used in ancient times as a cement and mortar

2

: any of various mixtures of hydrocarbons (such as tar) often together with their nonmetallic derivatives that occur naturally or are obtained as residues after heat-refining natural substances (such as petroleum)

specifically : such a mixture soluble in carbon disulfide

bituminization

bə-ˌtyü-mə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

bī-

-ˌtü-

noun

bituminize

bə-ˈtyü-mə-ˌnīz 

bī-

-ˈtü-

transitive verb

Examples of bitumen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those pellets, along with old asphalt harvested from deteriorated roads, were finally mixed with bitumen to create new asphalt which was 40% butt pellets and recycled road material by weight. —Ben Coxworth july 24, New Atlas, 24 July 2025

What you’re left with now, even though your heart has been altered, is a quantity of tar, of bitumen, of the inkiest and stickiest stuff. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 15 July 2025

The tapered part of the bone had remnants of bitumen, and ancient resin, that suggests the pointed piece was attached to a shaft, likely wood at one end, according to the study. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025

Showing illustrative, colorful scenes of Neanderthals fashioning tools with sticky tar, bitumen mortar in Mesopotamian structures, Chinese naphtha stoves, and eventually the US automotive industry, the work reveals the ways oil has permeated human production across cultures. —Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 2 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bithumen mineral pitch, from Latin bitumin-, bitumen

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bitumen

• acumen
• albumen
• albumin
• cerumen
• curcumin
• illumine
• inhuman
• nonhuman
• subhuman
• crewman
• crewmen
• cumin