Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. 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. See Asphalt.

By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

The generic term for an amorphous, semisolid mixture of complex hydrocarbons derived from petroleum or coal. In the roofing industry, there are two basic bitumens: asphalt and coal tar pitch. Before application, they are (1) heated to a liquid state, (2) dissolved in a solvent, or (3) emulsified.

Dark, naturally occurring solid or semisolid substances composed mainly of a mixture of hydrocarbons with little oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur.