What does tarred mean?
Tarred is the past-tense and past-participle form of tar and is normally used as an adjective meaning coated, covered, or smeared with tar, a thick, sticky black substance traditionally made by heating pitchy substances and now chiefly produced from petroleum or biomass. In current practical use, the word most often describes rope, timber, roofs, roads, or other surfaces protected with tar against water, weather, or decay. It can also appear as a verb form: workers tar a roof, while sailors tar the ropes of a ship. The expression “tarred and feathered” is older and carries a vivid history of punishment and public disgrace; modern speakers also use it figuratively for intense social shaming. Tarred has a practical, often maritime or construction-related register, but it is not restricted to those fields and can sound strongly traditional or historical when describing past practices. In American pronunciation the final r is sounded, /tɑːrd/, while many British speakers use a non-rhotic form, /tɑːd/.
Covered, coated, or smeared with tar.
"They replaced the weathered planks with tarred timber."
Common as an attributive modifier before nouns such as “rope,” “timber,” and “road.”
Coated or smeared something with tar.
"The sailors tarred the ropes before the storm reached the harbor."
This is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb “tar.”
“Tarred and feathered” has long been shorthand for a brutal public humiliation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How tarred is actually used
The word is common in maritime, roofing, road-making, and construction contexts. It is also the simple past tense and past participle of “tar.” American pronunciation is typically rhotic, /tɑːrd/, while non-rhotic British pronunciation is /tɑːd/.
Easily confused with tarred
Starred means marked or decorated with a star, whereas tarred means coated with tar.
Tared means measured or calibrated to account for the weight of a container or other material.