noun. Any of various flammable mixtures of hydrocarbons and other substances, occurring naturally or obtained by distillation from coal or petroleum, that are a component of asphalt and tar and are used for surfacing roads and for waterproofing.

noun. The name given by Latin writers, especially by Pliny, to various forms of hydrocarbons now included under the names of asphaltum, maltha, and petroleum (see these words).

noun. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See asphalt.

noun. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

noun. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew’s pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, et cetera.

noun. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petrolea, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

noun. any of various naturally occurring impure mixtures of hydrocarbons

"But after reading up on the Keystone XL pipeline and its proposed cargo -- a thick, tarry form of oil called bitumen, which is diluted with other petroleum byproducts and pumped at higher pressures and temperatures than conventional crude -- Kelso said she and her family became nervous and backed away."

asphalt  bitumen process  elastic bitumen  

Jew's pitch  bituminous  crude bitumen  refined bitumen  

hydrocarbon  

pitch  tar  

Neumann  Newman  Schuman  Schumann  Truman  

asphalt