tar pit
nounDefinition of tar pit
: an area in which natural bitumens collect and are exposed at the earth's surface and which tends to trap animals and preserve their hard parts (such as bones or teeth)
Examples of tar pit in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Vanderbilt University paleontologist Larisa DeSantis grew up in the Los Angeles area and frequently visited the tar pits in her youth, even taking museum classes on offer. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Fossilized teeth of Ice Age predators yield clues to why certain species survived," 6 Aug. 2019 Today, visitors to Los Angeles can visit the tar pits to learn about the fossils discovered there. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Fossils in La Brea Tar Pits reveal why coyotes still exist, but not saber-toothed cats," 5 Aug. 2019 More than 3,000 fossilized cats have been pulled from the acrid ooze of the La Brea tar pits in California, and researchers studying them have long pictured Smilodon as a lion-like hunter, chasing bison and horses out on open grasslands. — John Pickrell, National Geographic, "Saber-tooth surprise: Fossils redraw picture of the fearsome big cat," 5 Aug. 2019 Hello from sunny Los Angeles, where the Moon Juice and tar pits never stop flowing. — Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, "Top 100 mailbag: Which restaurants to review and the trepidation of using Tock," 15 July 2019 Last month, the La Brea tar pits announced a new master plan. — Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, "Where’s the urban plan for L.A.’s biggest museum makeover in a decade?," 12 July 2019 The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, which manages the tar pits, did not respond to a query on the matter. — Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, "Where’s the urban plan for L.A.’s biggest museum makeover in a decade?," 12 July 2019 The ranch’s woodlands and tall grasslands are complemented by unique tar pits, ponds and flowing streams. — Katie Brown, The Mercury News, "“This is definitely a local Standing Rock”: Sargent Ranch," 9 July 2019 This will shift the flow of visitors into the park and therefore the tar pits. — Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, "The La Brea Tar Pits are getting a makeover. Here's why," 6 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tar pit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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