A dark, hard surface made of tar and gravel, commonly used for roads, runways, or parking areas.
Short for 'tarmacadam,' named after Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam who invented the macadam road surface in the 1820s. 'Tar' refers to the bituminous material used to bind it. The word was first applied to airport runways in the early 20th century.
When you see an airplane on the tarmac, you're looking at a surface invented so efficiently that it's barely changed in 200 years — and it's named after one person who figured out that tar plus gravel equals a road that actually lasts.
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