tar
gb/tˈɑɹ/ us/tˈɑɹ/
B2
English
~ 8200
kátrány, kátrányoz, bemocskol, megbélyegez, tengerész, tengeri medve, tar-archívum, tar-fájl, tar-archívumba csomagol, tar-fájlba csomagol
NOUN
B2
1
kátrány
B2
Usage pattern:
[someone] puts tar on [a surface]
Workers were pouring hot tar onto the road surface.
A munkások forró kátrányt öntöttek az útfelületre.
The old wooden pier had been treated with tar to stop it rotting.
A régi fa mólót kátránnyal kezelték, hogy ne korhadjon el.
In the heat, the tar on the highway started to soften and shine.
He accidentally stepped in wet tar and ruined his new shoes.
The smell of fresh tar filled the whole neighborhood during the repairs.
Learner examples
They are putting new tar on the road.
Új kátrányréteget tesznek az útra.
The roof is covered with black tar.
A tetőt fekete kátrány borítja.
He used tar to protect the wood from water.
The hot sun made the tar very soft.
There is sticky tar on my car tires.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "tar" with "asphalt" or "bitumen." In everyday speech, people often say "asphalt road" or just "the road" rather than "tar road," though "tar" is still used, especially to describe the sticky material itself.
Meaning
black sticky material for roads/roofs
Collocations
hot tar
|tar and gravel roof
|tar road
|smell of tar
|coat [something] in tar
|boiling tar
Synonyms
bitumen (More technical; often used in engineering and geology for naturally occurring tar-like material.)
|
asphalt (Commonly used for road surfaces; usually refers to a mixture that includes tar or bitumen.)
Themes
materials
|construction
|environment
|housing
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Definition
A very thick, black, sticky material used to make and repair roads and roofs and to protect wood.
A thick, black, sticky substance obtained from coal or petroleum, used especially for paving roads, sealing roofs, and protecting wood or other materials.
NOUN
B2
2
kátrány
B2
Usage pattern:
[cigarette] has [amount] of tar
Low-tar cigarettes still contain enough tar to damage your lungs.
Az alacsony kátránytartalmú cigarettákban még így is van annyi kátrány, hogy károsítsa a tüdőt.
The packet listed the amount of tar and nicotine per cigarette.
A csomagoláson feltüntették a cigarettánkénti kátrány- és nikotinmennyiséget.
Tar from cigarette smoke builds up in the lungs over time.
Health warnings explain that tar is one of the main causes of lung cancer.
He switched to a brand with less tar, but his doctor said it was still dangerous.
Learner examples
These cigarettes have a lot of tar.
Ezekben a cigarettákban sok a kátrány.
Tar from smoking can hurt your lungs.
A dohányfüstben lévő kátrány károsíthatja a tüdődet.
The box shows how much tar is in each cigarette.
Doctors say tar in smoke can cause cancer.
Even low-tar cigarettes are not safe.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "tar" in this sense is a countable noun and say "many tars." In this meaning, "tar" is uncountable: say "a lot of tar" or "high tar levels," not "many tars."
Meaning
harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke
Collocations
tar levels
|low-tar cigarettes
|high-tar cigarettes
|tar and nicotine
|tar content
|tar in cigarette smoke
Synonyms
tobacco tar (More specific term used in medical and scientific contexts for tar from burning tobacco.)
Themes
health
|smoking
Definition
The bad, sticky chemicals in cigarette smoke that can harm your lungs, usually shown as a number on a cigarette pack.
The mixture of harmful sticky chemicals in tobacco smoke, especially as measured and listed on cigarette packages.
VERB
C1
3
kátrányoz
B2
Usage pattern:
to tar [a surface]
They closed the street for two days to tar the road.
Két napra lezárták az utcát, hogy lekátrányozzák az utat.
The workers planned to tar the flat roof before the rainy season.
A munkások azt tervezték, hogy az esős időszak előtt lekátrányozzák a lapostetőt.
After they tarred the driveway, it looked brand new.
The crew spent the week tarring the new highway extension.
He runs a small business that cleans and tars old parking lots.
Learner examples
They will tar the road tomorrow.
Holnap lekátrányozzák az utat.
Workers are tarring the roof today.
A munkások ma a tetőt kátrányozzák.
The driveway was tarred last year.
We need to tar this old path again.
The company tars roads in the city.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "tar" instead of more common general verbs like "pave" or "surface" when they only mean that a new road is being built. Use "tar" when you specifically mean covering something with tar, not just building a road.
Meaning
cover something with tar
Collocations
tar the road
|tar the roof
|freshly tarred
|tar and gravel
|tar a driveway
|tar and seal
Synonyms
coat (More general; means to cover something with any substance, not specifically tar.)
Antonyms
strip (Means to remove a layer or covering, which is the opposite of applying tar.)
Themes
construction
|materials
|housing
|work
|daily_life
Definition
To put tar on a road, roof, or other surface to protect it or make it ready to use.
To cover a surface with tar, especially in order to seal it, make it waterproof, or prepare it for use.
VERB
C1
4
bemocskol
B2
megbélyegez
C1
Usage pattern:
to tar [someone/something] as [adjective]
The scandal tarred his reputation for years.
A botrány évekre bemocskolta a hírnevét.
It is wrong to tar all immigrants as criminals.
Helytelen minden bevándorlót bűnözőként megbélyegezni.
One bad employee should not tar the whole company.
The media coverage unfairly tarred her as dishonest.
He felt that the report had tarred him by association with the others.
Learner examples
The news story tarred his good name.
A hírcikk bemocskolta a jó hírét.
Do not tar all students as lazy.
Ne bélyegezz meg minden diákot lustaként.
One mistake should not tar her forever.
The article tarred the company as unsafe.
They felt the movie tarred their culture.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this sense with the literal meaning of putting tar on something. When used about reputation or groups of people, it is figurative: you are not using real tar, but talking about damaging how people are seen.
Meaning
harm or stain a reputation
Collocations
tar someone's reputation
|tar someone as corrupt
|tar an entire group
|unfairly tar
|tar all politicians with the same brush
Synonyms
stigmatize (More formal and often used in social or psychological contexts; strong sense of social disapproval.)
|
smear (Common in political or media contexts; often suggests a deliberate and dishonest attack.)
Antonyms
praise (Means to say good things about someone, opposite of harming their reputation.)
Themes
communication
|social
|relationships
|business
Definition
To make people think badly of someone, especially in an unfair way, by linking them with something bad.
To damage a person’s or organization’s reputation, especially by unfairly suggesting they are connected with something bad.
NOUN
C2
LITERARY
5
tengerész
B1
Usage pattern:
an old tar
The old tar told stories of storms in the North Atlantic.
Az öreg tengeri medve észak-atlanti viharokról mesélt.
A group of seasoned tars gathered at the harbor bar.
Egy csapat tapasztalt tengerész gyűlt össze a kikötői bárban.
He walked with the rolling gait of a lifelong tar.
The novel follows a young boy who dreams of becoming a tar.
The captain and his tars prepared the ship for departure.
Learner examples
The old tar had many sea stories.
Az öreg tengerésznek sok tengeri története volt.
He looked like a strong tar from a movie.
Úgy nézett ki, mint egy erős tengerész egy filmből.
In the book, a young tar goes to sea.
The bar was full of tired tars.
The film shows tars working on a big ship.
Common mistake:
Learners may think this word is common in modern speech. In fact, it is old-fashioned or literary; in most situations, "sailor" is the natural word to use.
Meaning
old-fashioned word for sailor
Collocations
old tar
|salty tar
|weather-beaten tar
Synonyms
seaman (More modern and neutral; used in both everyday and official contexts.)
|
sailor (The normal everyday word; not literary or old-fashioned.)
Themes
jobs
|sea
|travel
|transportation
|core_vocabulary
Definition
An old word for a sailor, especially an experienced one on big ships.
An old-fashioned or literary term for a sailor, especially one who is experienced and works on traditional ships.
NOUN
C1
TECHNICAL
6
tar-archívum
C1
tar-fájl
C1
Usage pattern:
a .tar file
Download the source code as a tar file from the website.
Töltsd le a forráskódot tar-fájlban a weboldalról.
The backup script creates a tar archive every night.
A biztonsági mentést végző szkript minden éjjel létrehoz egy tar-archívumot.
You need to extract the tar before you can install the software.
The package is distributed as a compressed tar archive.
He sent me a tar of the entire project directory.
Learner examples
I downloaded a big .tar file.
Letöltöttem egy nagy .tar fájlt.
The program comes as a tar archive.
A program tar-archívum formájában érhető el.
First, unzip the file, then open the tar.
She sent me a tar of the project.
You must extract the tar before running the setup.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse the computer term "tar" with the black material used on roads. In technical computing contexts, "tar" almost always refers to the archive format, not the physical substance.
Meaning
UNIX-style archive file format
Collocations
tar file
|tar archive
|tarball
|extract a tar
|compress a tar file
Synonyms
tarball (Informal technical slang for a tar archive file.)
Themes
technology
|computing
Definition
A type of computer file that puts many files and folders together into one file, usually named with .tar.
A computer archive file or file format, especially on Unix-like systems, used to store multiple files and directories together, usually with a .tar extension.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
7
Usage pattern:
to tar [files/folders] into [a file]
Please tar the logs and send me the archive.
Kérlek, csomagold tar-archívumba a naplófájlokat, és küldd el az archívumot.
He tarred the whole project into a single file before uploading it.
Feltöltés előtt az egész projektet egyetlen tar-fájlba csomagolta.
The instructions say to tar the source directory and then compress it.
You can tar the folder and then use gzip to reduce its size.
They tarred the backup files overnight as part of the automated job.
Learner examples
Tar the folder before you email it.
Csomagold tar-archívumba a mappát, mielőtt elküldöd e-mailben.
He tarred the files into one .tar file.
Egyetlen .tar fájlba csomagolta a fájlokat.
First tar the project, then zip it.
We tar the backups every night.
The script tars the logs at midnight.
Common mistake:
Learners may think "tar" here means to damage or dirty something because of the non-technical meanings. In computing, as a verb, it specifically means to create a tar archive, usually on Unix-like systems.
Meaning
put files into a tar archive
Collocations
tar up the directory
|tar the logs
|tar and compress
|tar the source code
|tar everything into one file
Synonyms
archive (General computing verb meaning to store files together; does not specify the tar format.)
|
package (General verb meaning to group files for distribution; broader than just creating a tar file.)
Antonyms
extract (Means to take files out of an archive, the opposite of putting them into a tar archive.)
Themes
technology
|computing
Definition
To use a computer program to put many files and folders together into one .tar file.
To place one or more files and directories into a tar archive using the tar program or a similar tool.
Grammar
Dictionary form
tar
IPA
GB/tˈɑɹ/
US/tˈɑɹ/
Syllables & stress
tar (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (tar)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: tar
- Plural: tar, tars
Verb
- Base: tar
- 3rd Person Singular: tars
- Present Participle: taring
- Past: tared
Word family
Forms
tars
noun
taring
verb
tared
verb
Related words
tarmac
noun
tarpaulin
noun
Advanced or less common
tarry
adjective C1
Expressions
tar and feather
1/tˈɑɹ ˈænd fˈɛðɚ/
idiom
literary
punish or attack very harshly
To treat someone very badly, especially in public, by strongly attacking or shaming them.
Examples
- The fans were ready to tar and feather the coach after the team lost again.
- If we raise taxes, the voters will tar and feather us.
tar someone with the same brush
1/tˈɑɹ sˈʌmwˌʌn wˈɪθ ðə sˈeɪm bɹˈʌʃ/
idiom
unfairly blame as same as others
To think or say that someone is bad because they are in the same group as other bad people, even if it is not fair.
Examples
- It’s unfair to tar all politicians with the same brush.
- It is unfair to tar all young people with the same brush just because of a few troublemakers.
- She felt she had been tarred with the same brush as her dishonest colleagues.
- He felt tarred with the same brush as his dishonest colleagues.
- We shouldn’t tar every teenager with the same brush because of a few troublemakers.