macadam

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/məˈkædəm/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(mə kad′əm)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
mac•ad•am  (mə kad′əm),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Civil Engineeringa macadamized road or pavement.
  2. Civil Engineeringthe broken stone used in making such a road.
  • named after J. Latin. McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer who invented it 1815–25

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
macadam /məˈkædəm/ n
  1. a road surface made of compressed layers of small broken stones, esp one that is bound together with tar or asphalt
Etymology: 19th Century: named after John McAdam (1756–1836), Scottish engineer, the inventor
'macadam' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
macadamize - macadamia - tarmac - tarmacadam

Forum discussions with the word(s) "macadam" in the title:


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