noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
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"You need to excavate and remove the topsoil, line the subsoil with a geotextile, then lay and compact hardcore. Follow this with a layer of compacted "hoggin" – compacted clay, gravel and sand. This is then sprayed with hot bitumen, and has a layer of pea shingle rolled into it."
"another star reflected itself in the glassy black of the bitumened road"
"I loathe these times like bitumen."
A sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum, burning with a bright flame. 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.; Mineral pitch.
Common synonyms include: alabaster, asphalt, asphalts, asphaltum, bituminous coating, blacktop.
I loathe these times like bitumen.
Pronounced /ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/.
From Middle English bithumen, bitumen, from Latin bitūmen. Doublet of bitume.