coal tar

noun

: tar obtained by distillation of bituminous coal and used especially as an industrial fuel, in making dyes, and in the topical treatment of skin disorders

Examples of coal tar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And much of New York is built atop industrial pollution that was never properly remediated — Stuy Town, for example, sits on the site of a huge manufactured gas plant, which left behind toxic coal tar. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 27 June 2024

The contaminants included untreated sewage, which caused cholera and typhoid outbreaks that claimed thousands of lives, and coal tar. —Rana Hajirasouli, Harvard Business Review, 27 June 2024

As for the coal tar, a discovery that it could be distilled into the building blocks of synthetic dyes caused businesses to stop dumping it into the river and instead repurpose it into valuable dye compounds. —Rana Hajirasouli, Harvard Business Review, 27 June 2024

Once the steamrollers evened out the crushed limestone track, a final coat of a coal tar binding agent was applied and the track was ready for racing. —Dawn Mitchell, The Indianapolis Star, 22 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

coal tar

noun

: tar obtained from bituminous coal and used especially in making drugs and dyes

Medical Definition

coal tar

noun

ˈkōl- 

: tar obtained by distillation of bituminous coal and used in the treatment of some skin diseases by direct local application to the skin