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tarmac

Pronunciation: /ˈtɑː(ɹ)mæk/

The English word “tarmac” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Tarmacadam.
  2. Any bituminous road surfacing material.
  3. The driveable surface of a road.
  4. The area of an airport, other than the runway, where planes park or maneuver.

verb

  1. To pave with tarmacadam or a similar material.
  2. To spend time idling on a runway, usually waiting for takeoff clearance.

Etymology

Clipping of tarmacadam, which is from tar + macadam (“crushed stones”). Originally a trademark owned by its inventor, Edgar Hooley.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.