Definition

1. Noun:
   • A black, tar-like material used for surfacing roads, driveways, and other paved areas. It is a type of asphalt or bitumen, typically mixed with crushed stone or gravel, and is applied while hot.
2. Verb:
   • To cover or surface an area with this black, bituminous paving material.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The city is repaving the street with fresh blacktop.
  • The heat made the blacktop on the parking lot soft and sticky.
• Verb:
  • The crew will blacktop the school's playground next week.
  • We hired a contractor to blacktop our long driveway.

Advanced Usage

• The term blacktop is often used in contrast to (which is grey) when describing paved surfaces, emphasizing the material's color and common use for roads and driveways.
• It can be used attributively (like an adjective) in compound nouns, such as blacktop road or blacktop surface.

Variants and Related Words

• Asphalt (n): A very similar, often synonymous, material used for paving. is the more formal or technical term.
• Tarmac (n): A proprietary name for a similar material (tar macadam), often used for airport runways and, informally, for road surfaces.
• Pavement (n): The general, hardened surface of a road or sidewalk, which can be made of blacktop, concrete, or other materials.

Synonyms

• Noun: asphalt, bitumen, tarmac (informal), paving.
• Verb: pave, asphalt, surface, tar.

Related Phrases

• Lay blacktop: To install or apply the blacktop material.
  • The company will lay blacktop on the new subdivision's roads.
• Blacktop sealer: A protective coating applied over existing blacktop to prevent damage from water and sun.
  • Applying a blacktop sealer every few years extends the life of your driveway.

Noun

1. a black bituminous material used for paving roads or other areas; usually spread over crushed rock

Verb

1. coat with blacktop
   • blacktop the driveway