Asphalt is a black substance used to make the surfaces of things such as roads and playgrounds.
...the school's asphalt driveway.
asphalt in British English
(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
3. (modifier)
containing or surfaced with asphalt
verb
4. (transitive)
to cover with asphalt
Derived forms
asphaltic (asˈphaltic)
adjective
Word origin
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
asphalt in American English
(ˈæsˌfɔlt; often ˈæʃˌfɔlt)
noun
1.
a brown or black, tarlike, bituminous substance that consists mainly of hydrocarbons, found in large flat beds or made by refining petroleum
2.
a mixture of this with sand or gravel, for cementing, paving, roofing, etc.
verb transitive
3.
to pave, roof, etc. with asphalt
Derived forms
asphaltic (asˈphaltic)
adjective
Word origin
ML asphaltus < Gr asphaltos, prob. < a-, not + sphallein, to cause to fall, injure (< IE base *(s)p(h)el-, to split off > spill1): ? so named because of use as protective substance for walls
Examples of 'asphalt' in a sentence
asphalt
Often in summer, owners feel they can't let their pets walk on a hot asphalt road.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is currently housed in a single-storey structure with a flat asphalt roof.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He used to race it speedway style, going sideways in the corners on the hot asphalt.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Instead of heading back out to sea, she had wandered into the dunes, which were already hot as asphalt in the morning sun.