tar pit

noun

: an area in which natural bitumens collect and are exposed at the earth's surface and which tends to trap animals and preserve their hard parts (such as bones or teeth)

Examples of tar pit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But then, just as suddenly, the erotic thrillers disappeared, pushed into the tar pits by superheroes, sequels, and a self-infantilizing industry. Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2024 In 2024, China will sink deeper into the tar pit of economic stagnation caused by statism and a refusal to embrace free market capitalism. James Rogan, Washington Examiner, 15 Jan. 2024 The plates are treated with a light-sensitive emulsion that incorporates bitumen asphalt that the artist gathered from Southern California tar pits — La Brea, McKittrick and Carpinteria — and printed with aerial photographic views of regional oil fields, past and present. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023 The tar pits trap collagen, a connective tissue that enables researchers to precisely date the specimens. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2023 The tar pits provide a remarkably complete cross-section of life at the time, preserving birds, small reptiles, insects, plants and even pollen that fell into the muck along with larger mammals. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2023 La Brea Tar Pits recognized as a geological heritage site Oct. 28, 2022 The tar pits are fenced off, but nothing discourages birds from landing on the goo. Vanessa Arredondo, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2023 The researchers first examined fossils from the La Brea tar pits, naturally occurring pools of asphalt that trapped and preserved bones from dozens of mammal species and over a hundred bird species over a period of thousands of years. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2023 But after the 13,000-year mark, that diversity disappeared, said Regan Dunn, a curator at the tar pits and co-author on the study. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tar pit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tar pit was in 1839

Dictionary Entries Near tar pit

Cite this Entry

“Tar pit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tar%20pit. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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