tars 1 of 2

noun

plural of tar
as in sailors
one who operates or navigates a seagoing vessel a book about the adventurous lives of tars, skippers, and pirates of the 18th century

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

tars

2 of 2

verb

variants or tarres
present tense third-person singular of tar
as in pollutes

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tars
Noun
Mummification experts at Saqqara drew on a continental network that supplied oils, tars and resins, combining these materials with specialized techniques of antisepsis, embalming, wrapping and coffin sealing. — R. Alexander Bentley, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tars
  1. sailors
  2. pollutes
  3. mariners
  4. soils
  5. salts
  6. dirties
  7. navigators
  8. smears
Noun
  • American and French soldiers and sailors killed one another during the 1942 landings in North Africa—and then went off to war together in Italy and the South of France.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
  • The elimination followed an earlier decision to end female sailors’ participation in women’s-only regattas.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of sailors
Verb
  • Unless the energy powering data centers comes from clean energy sources, such as solar, wind or geothermal, generating that electricity also pollutes the air.
    — Ed Maibach, The Conversation, 8 June 2026
  • Meanwhile, the unceasing churn of clothing, footwear and accessories depletes soils, poisons the water, pollutes the air, drives deforestation, accelerates biodiversity loss and generates runaway planet-warming emissions that undermine brands’ lofty environmental ambitions.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
Definition of pollutes
Noun
  • On a previous voyage, the captain—who is in his late fifties, with a young wife and child—pursued the gigantic, unnaturally white sperm whale known to mariners as Moby Dick.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • To protect these specialized mariners, pilot boats evolved into highly stable, heavy-duty vessels.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 June 2026
Definition of mariners
Verb
  • Volcanic vineyard soils on display at Omina Romana.
    — Layne Randolph, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
  • At one point, the prisoner soils himself, prompting a vomitous reaction.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
Definition of soils
Noun
  • Researchers then add lithium, manganese, and phosphate salts to provide the ingredients for LMFP.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 2 July 2026
  • The finca also houses the Herbal Spa, where treatments are infused with local botanicals, oils, and salts.
    — Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026
Definition of salts
Verb
  • The adventurous actress dirties up her frock and face to play the village pariah, who reeks of fish and would be no man’s idea of a suitable wife, except perhaps the one-eyed bum who sleeps in the town square.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of dirties
Noun
  • Troutman said nonurgent calls redirected to the nurse navigators will result in cost savings for Arlington.
    — Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 July 2026
  • Additionally, employers should provide dedicated benefits navigators to guide employees through complex survivor benefits, Social Security, and life insurance decisions.
    — Christine Michel Carter, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of navigators
Verb
  • In other words, the show is a celebration of America’s 250th birthday, but one that smears a little cake on the country’s face.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 27 June 2026
  • This chilling, starkly beautiful ambient piece draws Nebraska’s marginal whispers to the forefront and smears them across the picture plane.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of smears

Browse Nearby Words

tarrying (in)
tars
tart
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tars. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on tars

Nglish: Translation of tars for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All