Main Difference
The main difference between Tar and Bitumen is that the Tar is a substance and Bitumen is a highly viscous, black material obtained from the destillation of petroleum.
Tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. Production and trade in pine-derived tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden sailing vessels against rot. The largest user was the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. Demand for tar declined with the advent of iron and steel ships.
Tar-like products can also be produced from other forms of organic matter, such as peat. Mineral products resembling tar can be produced from fossil hydrocarbons, such as petroleum. Coal tar is produced from coal as a byproduct of coke production.
Tar (noun)
A black, oily, sticky, viscous substance, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons derived from organic materials such as wood, peat, or coal.
Tar (noun)
Coal tar.
Tar (noun)
A solid residual byproduct of tobacco smoke.
Tar (noun)
A sailor, because of their tarpaulin clothes. Also Jack Tar.
Tar (noun)
Black tar, a form of heroin.
Tar (noun)
A program for archiving files, common on Unix.
Tar (noun)
A file produced by such a program.
Tar (noun)
A Persian long-necked, waisted instrument, shared by many cultures and countries in the Middle East and the Caucasus.
Tar (noun)
A single-headed round frame drum originating in North Africa and the Middle East.
Tar (verb)
To coat with tar.
Tar (verb)
To besmirch.
“The allegations tarred his name, even though he was found innocent.”
Tar (verb)
To create a tar archive.
Bitumen (noun)
Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, 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.
“Jew’s pitch”
Bitumen (noun)
Any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petrolea, and even the light, volatile naphthas.
Bitumen (noun)
Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oil.
Tar (noun)
a dark, thick flammable liquid distilled from wood or coal, consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons, resins, alcohols, and other compounds. It is used in road-making and for coating and preserving timber.
Tar (noun)
a substance resembling tar, formed by burning tobacco or other material
“high-tar cigarettes”
Tar (noun)
a sailor.
Tar (verb)
cover (something) with tar
“a newly tarred road”