Tarmac

Tarmacadam

Tarmacadam or tarmac is a road surfacing material made by combining tar and macadam, patented by Welsh inventor Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1902. It is a more durable and dust-free enhancement of simple compacted stone macadam surfaces invented by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam in the early 19th century. The terms "tarmacadam" and "tarmac" are also used for a variety of other materials, including tar-grouted macadam, bituminous surface treatments and modern asphalt concrete.

Asphalt concrete

Asphalt concrete or asphaltic concrete is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, and the core of embankment dams. Asphalt mixtures have been used in pavement construction since the nineteenth century. It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with bitumen, laid in layers, and compacted.

Tarmac (company)

Tarmac is a British building materials company headquartered in Solihull, England. The company was formed as Lafarge Tarmac in March 2013, by the merger of Anglo American's Tarmac UK and Lafarge's operations in the United Kingdom. In July 2014, Anglo American agreed to sell its stake to Lafarge, to assist Lafarge in its merger with Holcim and allay competition concerns.

tarmac

Noun

1. Tarmacadam.
2. Any bituminous road surfacing material.

Verb

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