- a thick, sticky black liquid that becomes hard when cold. Tar is obtained from coal and is used especially in making roads. see also coal tarTopics Transport by car or lorryc2
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- a substance similar to tar that is formed when tobacco is burned
- low-tar cigarettes
- the average tar yield of British cigarettes
see also Jack Tar
Word OriginOld English teru, teoru, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch teer, German Teer, and perhaps ultimately to tree.
Idioms
See tar in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryspoil the ship for a ha’p’orth/ha’pennyworth of tar
- (saying) to cause something good to fail because you did not spend a small but necessary amount of money or time on a small but essential part of it
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