🛣️ A sticky substance 🛠️ To coat ⚓ A sailor

to tar

19 4.3

To cover something with a thick sticky substance to make it waterproof

verb
/tɑr/

: alquitranar

The timber was stripped of its bark, variegated, tarred, and then stuck into the ground.
tarred road

Examples

It's been 10 years since that roof was last tarred.

Fences (2016)
In the late 1970s, one tarred road traversed Venda territory from west to east.

Academic text (2006)
A long whistle echoed off the hillside; a cloud of brown smoke drifted over the tarred beams of the bridge.

Fiction book (2002)
The workers will tar the rooftops to prevent leaks during the rainy season.
Before the winter sets in, we need to tar the outdoor structures for protection.
To ensure the road remained smooth and safe, the crew plans to tar it next week.

Synonyms

to shellack

vsto tar

Specialized

1 8.7

To cover wood or furniture with a thin shiny finish for protection

uses a sticky black substance for waterproof protection rather than shiny resin finish

to teer

vsto tar

9.9

To cover something with tar to protect it

uses a specific sticky black substance aimed at waterproof protection

to tarpaper

vsto tar

6.8

Cover a roof with tar paper to keep out water

uses a liquid coating directly rather than applying treated paper

Antonyms

to expose

146 2.8

Make something visible by removing a cover or letting light reach it

Idioms

to tar with the same brush

Informal

1 8.7

Unfairly judge a whole group because of one person's actions

Phrasal Verbs

to tar-and-feather

Offensive

1 9.9

Cover someone with hot sticky tar and then feathers to punish and shame them publicly

Compounds

tar pit

4 7.6

A place with thick sticky black oil that traps animals and preserves their bones

tar paper

1 5.3

A heavy paper soaked in tar that you put under a roof to keep out rain

coal tar

Specialized

1 5.2

A thick dark sticky liquid made by heating coal and used in medicines and dyes

tar baby

Slur

1 9.9

A problem that becomes worse the more you try to fix it

coal-tar creosote

Specialized

9.1

A dark oily liquid made from coal tar that protects wood from rot and insects

mineral tar

Specialized

8.5

A thick black sticky material made from oil and rocks used to make roofs waterproof and stop rust

Jack-tar

Archaic

9.9

A person who works on a ship, often in the British navy

pine tar

6.3

A dark sticky substance from pine wood used to waterproof wood and soothe skin

pine-tar rag

Jargon

8.7

A cloth soaked in pine tar that batters rub on a bat handle to help them hold it better

Tar Heel State

6.8

A nickname for the state of North Carolina in the United States

tar-wood

New Zealand

9.9

A New Zealand tree or shrub with thin branches that grows in cold, wet places

wood tar

Specialized

7.3

A dark sticky liquid made by heating wood that protects things from water

How Sealed

to tar

19 4.3

to coat

105 2.8

Surface Forms

tar infinitive

tarred past

tarred past participle

tarring present participle

tars third person singular

Etymology

Tar (verb) comes from the noun tar and simply means to 'cover' something with that sticky black substance. That's why workers tar roofs and roads to protect them from water and wear.