- any of various viscous or solid impure mixtures of hydrocarbons that occur naturally in asphalt, tar, mineral waxes, etc: used as a road surfacing and roofing material
- the bitumen ⇒ Austral NZ informal any road with a bitumen surface
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
bi•tu•men /baɪˈtumən, -ˈtyu-, bɪ-/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Chemistrya black, sticky substance, such as asphalt.
bi•tu•men
(bī to̅o̅′mən, -tyo̅o̅′-, bi-, bich′ŏŏ-),USA pronunciation n.
bi•tu•mi•noid
(bī to̅o̅′mə noid′, -tyo̅o̅′-, bi-),USA pronunciation adj.
- Chemistryany of various natural substances, as asphalt, maltha, or gilsonite, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons.
- Chemistry, Building(formerly) an asphalt of Asia Minor used as cement and mortar.
- Latin bitūmen
- 1425–75; late Middle English bithumen
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bitumen /ˈbɪtjʊmɪn/ n
'bitumen' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Appalachian Mountains
- asphalt
- bituminize
- seal
- sealed road
- tarseal
- tarmac
- unsealed
- varnish
- asphaltene
- bituminous
- maltha
- mineral tar
- mortar
- mummy
- petrolene
- petroleum
- pyrobitumen
- tarmacadam