asphalt

plural asphalts · alternative obsolete asphalte

1. countableuncountableA sticky, black to brown and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid, composed almost entirely of bitumen with small mineral particles, that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits.

   The mining of asphalt was big business in this area in the early twentieth century.

   1 more example

   Felltham wrote in the beginning of the 17th century of the “Bitumated walls of Babylon;” the source of its supply, the fountains of Is, on a tributary of the Euphrates, still yields asphalt.

   1914, Thomas Hugh Boorman, Asphalts, their sources and utilizations, →OCLC, page 9

   Synonyms: bitumen

2. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of asphalt concrete, a hard ground covering used for roads and walkways.

   Near-synonyms: tarmac, tarmacadam, blacktop, bitumen

   4 more examples

   Please hose off the asphalt near the top of the driveway if the trucks get lots of mud on it.

   Between the grey mist of rainclouds the sun suddenly appeared to mottle the wet asphalt of Marble Arch in patches of silver and ebony.

   1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 214

   89.2 million tons of RAP are used annually in new asphalt pavement construction in the United States.

   (Can we date this quote?), “RAP Benefits for Pavement Owners”, in National Asphalt Pavement Association, archived from the original on 21 Mar 2025, page 1

   They tracked her around the perimeter of the convenience store parking lot, but the trail ended at the edge of the asphalt.

   2026 July 25, Nicholas Muhoro, “The Last Call of Jo-Anne Pedersen, the Girl Who Vanished From a Payphone”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 26 Jul 2026

   Synonyms: tarmac, tarmacadam, blacktop, bitumen

present singular third person asphalts · participle present asphalting · participle past asphalted · past asphalted · alternative obsolete asphalte

1. transitiveTo pave with asphalt.