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to untar

to untar

8.6
To remove tar from a surface by scraping or cleaning
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈtɑr/
: limpiar
  • She carefully untarred the fence posts to remove the sticky residue before repainting.

Examples

  • After the spill, the volunteers untarred the rocks along the shoreline to protect the wildlife.

  • The workers untarred the old railroad ties before reusing them in the garden.

  • I need to untar this old roof.

  • Can you help me untar this sticky mess?

  • The workers untarred the old railroad ties before reusing them in the garden.

  • She carefully untarred the fence posts to remove the sticky residue before repainting.

  • After the spill, the volunteers untarred the rocks along the shoreline to protect the wildlife.

Synonyms

52 1.0

To remove dirt or mud from a surface

is specific to removing tar or tarlike residues by scraping or careful removal

Surface Forms

untar infinitive
untarred past
untarred past participle
untarring present participle
untars third person singular

Morphology

untar = tar (transparent) = un + tar

The verb is transparently formed by adding the productive prefix 'un-' meaning 'remove' to the noun 'tar'.

Etymology

Untar comes from the prefix un- meaning 'remove' (as in untie) and tar, the sticky black material used on roads and roofs. So to untar something is to clean or scrape the tar off, which is why the word means removing tar from a surface.