tar
/tɑː(r)/ (bre, ipa) · [tˈɑr] /tɑːr/ (ame, ipa) · [tˈɑr] /ˈtär/ (ame, mw) · /tɑːr/ (bre, ipa)
tar — noun
1. a thick, dark, sticky liquid obtained from coal, wood, or petroleum, used to cov
a thick, dark, sticky liquid obtained from coal, wood, or petroleum, used to cover roads, roofs, or wooden surfaces in order to protect them from water and weather.
The workers spread hot tar across the road to seal the cracks before winter.
spread hot tar across [surface] — typical road-construction pattern
Emre's grandfather once worked on a crew that mixed tar for roofing houses.
mix tar for roofing [purpose]
The strong smell of tar filled the air as the road crew repaired the bridge.
Old wooden boats were often coated with tar to keep the planks from leaking.
Tanvi noticed black tar on her shoe after walking through the freshly sealed parking lot.
文法句型
tar + noun (as modifier): tar roof, tar road
用法筆記
Uncountable noun — cannot be used with 'a' or 'an'. Frequently used as a modifier before another noun (tar roof, tar pit, tar paper).
常見錯誤
2. a harmful, sticky chemical produced when tobacco leaves burn, found in cigarette
a harmful, sticky chemical produced when tobacco leaves burn, found in cigarette smoke and known to cause cancer and lung disease.
Cigarette packs in many countries now show how much tar each brand contains.
tar in cigarette smoke — health context pattern
Doctors warn that tar from tobacco smoke damages the tiny air sacs inside a person's lungs.
tar in tobacco smoke damages [body part]
Mizuki read a report stating that low-tar cigarettes are not significantly safer than regular ones.
A brown sticky residue of tar can build up inside the lungs of a long-term smoker.
- carcinogen
a broader category of cancer-causing substances; tar is one type of carcinogen found in smoke
- nicotine
the addictive chemical in tobacco, not the same as tar — tar causes physical lung damage, while nicotine causes addiction
文法句型
tar in [product]: tar in cigarettes
用法筆記
Uncountable noun. Usually modified with 'tobacco' or appears in health contexts. 'Low-tar' is a common compound adjective used on cigarette packaging.
常見錯誤
tar — verb
- tarpresent simple I / you / we / they
- tars3rd person singular
- taring-ing form
- taredpast simple
1. to spread or paint a layer of tar onto a surface such as a road, roof, or wooden
to spread or paint a layer of tar onto a surface such as a road, roof, or wooden structure in order to protect or seal it.
A team of workers will tar the driveway next Tuesday if the weather stays dry.
tar + [surface] — transitive pattern for coating
The old shed roof needs to be tarred again before the rainy season starts.
Beatriz watched the road crew tar the street outside her apartment building.
Every summer the fishermen tar their pier to stop the salt water from rotting the wood.
The fence posts were tarred decades ago and are still standing strong.
文法句型
tar + noun (object): tar a road/roof
用法筆記
Commonly used in the passive voice (be tarred) when describing the finished state of a surface. Less frequent in everyday speech — more likely in construction or maintenance contexts.
常見錯誤
2. to unfairly connect someone with something bad or unpleasant, so that other peop
to unfairly connect someone with something bad or unpleasant, so that other people think negatively of them — for example, treating all members of a group as guilty because of the actions of a few.
Ilan felt that he had been tarred with the same brush as his dishonest business partner.
tarred with the same brush — fixed idiom pattern
The entire department was tarred by the scandal even though only two employees were involved.
be tarred by [event] — passive pattern
Camille argued that it is unfair to tar all politicians with the same accusation of dishonesty.
After one student cheated, the teacher warned the class not to be tarred by his actions.
Sade's reputation was tarred by a rumour that turned out to be completely false.
- stigmatize
more formal and clinical; implies a lasting social mark
- brand
implies a public, often visible label of disgrace, similar in strength to 'tar'
- label
less harsh than 'tar' — can be neutral or positive
- exonerate
to officially clear someone of blame, the opposite of unfairly associating them with wrongdoing
- distinguish
to treat someone as separate and different from a group, the opposite of lumping them together
文法句型
tar + someone + with + noun phrase: tarred with the same brush
用法筆記
Almost always used in the passive (be tarred) or as a past participle (tarred). The phrase 'tar someone with the same brush' is a fixed idiom meaning to assume someone shares the negative qualities of others in their group. Distinguish from verb sense 1 (COVER WITH TAR), which is literal and concrete.