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
Beyond medicines, Denmark also sends the United States medical instruments, fish fillets, pig meat, coal tar oil, petroleum and baked goods, among other products, according to the OEC.
—
Ana Swanson, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for coal tar
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ana Swanson, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for coal tar
Cite this Entry
“Coal tar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coal%20tar. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
coal tar
noun
: tar obtained by distillation of bituminous coal and used in the treatment of some skin diseases by direct local application to the skin
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share