tarmac

Etymology

Clipping of tarmacadam, which is tar + macadam (crushed stones). Originally a trademark owned by its inventor Edgar Hooley.

noun

1. Tarmacadam.
   Coordinate term: asphalt concrete
2. (loosely, UK, Ireland, Canada) Any bituminous road surfacing material.
   How meek and shrunken did that haughty Tarmac become as it slunk by the wide circle of asphalt of the yellow sort, that was loosely strewn before the great iron gates of Lady Hall as a forerunner of the consideration that awaited the guests of Rupert, Earl of Kare, […]. 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
3. (UK, Ireland, Canada) The driveable surface of a road.
4. (informal, aviation) The area of an airport, other than the runway, where planes park or maneuver.

verb

1. (Britain, Canada) To pave with tarmacadam or a similar material.
   To your left is a green lane, partly tarmacked with chippings, which leads up to a little car-parking area. 2008, Valerie Belsey, Exploring Green Lanes in North and North-West Devon, page 108
   Residents in Bolton are angry after workmen tarmaced only one half of their road leaving the other half strewn with potholes. 2014, Taking the rough with the smooth: Bolton residents anger over half-tarmaced road, ITV Granada
2. (aviation) To spend time idling on a runway, usually waiting for takeoff clearance.
   "It is not unusual these days for the time spent tarmacking to exceed the time spent in the air, " said Senator John Danforth, R-Mo. 1989, Donald F. Wood, James C. Johnson, Contemporary Transportation, page 213