tarmac

1 of 2

noun

tar·​mac ˈtär-ˌmak How to pronounce tarmac (audio)
: 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
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Noun
The promise of copious amounts of profitable new airlines, meanwhile, evaporated like jet fuel on a hot tarmac. Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 1 May 2025 The plane was evacuated onto the snowy tarmac, with terrified passengers – many of whom did not even have time to grab their coats – awaiting help in frigid temperatures. Julia Bonavita, Fox News, 21 Feb. 2025 Industrial composting of organic waste, for example, is just tarmac, some industrial equipment, some air flow, and a lot of know-how. Rob Day, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025 The tremors caused significant damage to roads, tearing apart tarmac and buckling infrastructure. Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tarmac

Word History

Etymology

Noun

from Tarmac, a trademark

First Known Use

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tarmac was in 1919

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tarmac.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tarmac. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

tarmac

noun
tar·​mac ˈtär-ˌmak How to pronounce tarmac (audio)
: a road, apron, or runway paved with layers of crushed stone covered with tar

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