macadam
noun
Did you know?
John Loudon McAdam and Macadam
In 1783, inventor John Loudon McAdam returned to his native Scotland after amassing a fortune in New York City. He became the road trustee for his district and quickly set his inventiveness to remedying the terrible condition of local roads. After numerous experiments, he created a new road surfacing material made of bits of stone that became compressed into a solid mass as traffic passed over them. His invention revolutionized road construction and transportation, and engineers and the public alike honored him by using his name (respelled macadam) as a generic term for the material or pavement made from it. He is further immortalized in the verb macadamize, which names the process of installing macadam on a road.
Example Sentences
Mary Ann Ashcraft, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 11 Oct. 2019 The macadam on Tenth Street comes out of the winter in wretched condition. Arthur Hart, idahostatesman, 30 June 2018 Word History
after John Loudon McAdam †1836 Scottish civil engineer who introduced this method of road construction
1824, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
macadam
noun