asphalt

[ as-fawlt or, especially British, -falt ]
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noun
  1. any of various dark-colored, solid, bituminous substances, native in various areas of the earth and composed mainly of hydrocarbon mixtures.

  2. a similar substance that is the by-product of petroleum-cracking operations.

  1. a mixture of such substances with gravel, crushed rock, or the like, used for paving.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cover or pave with asphalt.

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or containing asphalt: asphalt tile.

Origin of asphalt

1
1275–1325; earlier asphaltos, -um<Latin <Greek ásphaltos, -on, akin to asphalízein to make firm, to secure; replacing Middle English aspaltoun ≪ Greek ásphalton

Other words from asphalt

  • as·phal·tic, adjective
  • as·phalt·like, adjective
  • un·as·phalt·ed, adjective

Words Nearby asphalt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use asphalt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for asphalt

asphalt

/ (ˈæsfælt, ˈæʃ-, -fɔːlt) /


noun
  1. any of several black semisolid substances composed of bitumen and inert mineral matter. They occur naturally in parts of America and as a residue from petroleum distillation: used as a waterproofing material and in paints, dielectrics, and fungicides

  2. a mixture of this substance with gravel, used in road-surfacing and roofing materials

  1. (modifier) containing or surfaced with asphalt

verb
  1. (tr) to cover with asphalt

Origin of asphalt

1
C14: from Late Latin aspaltus, from Greek asphaltos, probably from a- 1 + sphallein to cause to fall; referring to its use as a binding agent

Derived forms of asphalt

  • asphaltic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for asphalt

asphalt

[ ăsfôlt′ ]


  1. A thick, sticky, dark-brown mixture of petroleum tars used in paving, roofing, and waterproofing. Asphalt is produced as a byproduct in refining petroleum or is found in natural beds.

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