From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtarmactar‧mac1 /ˈtɑːmæk $ ˈtɑːr-/ noun trademark 1 (also tarmacadam British English /ˌtɑːməˈkædəm $ ˌtɑːr- $ ˌtɑːr-/) [uncountable]TTR a mixture of tar and very small stones, used for making the surface of roads SYN asphalt2 → the tarmac
Examples from the Corpus
tarmac• More tarmac and concrete has left fewer green fields for water to drain into underground reserves, as Sheila Brocklebank reports.• And an hour later in the House of Sport, the road race committee will hear the views of tarmac competitors.• I watched as my dear man made his way across the tarmac to the small Doha airport.• There was a flustered conference on the tarmac between two groups of officials.• A ground party was immediately organised to manhandle the aircraft on to sheets of corrugated iron positioned on the tarmac.• The men hopped to the tarmac and unraveled a rust-stained intestine of hose.tarmactarmac2 verb (tarmacked, tarmacking) [transitive] TTRto cover a road’s surface with tarmac→ See Verb tableOrigin tarmac (1900-2000) Tarmac, a trademark, from tarmacadam “tarmac” ((19-20 centuries)), from tar + macadam “smooth hard road surface” ((19-20 centuries)) (from John L. McAdam (1756-1836), Scottish engineer who invented the process) 