Gravel vs. Macadam — What's the Difference?

Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel is classified by particle size range and includes size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments.

Macadam is a type of road construction, pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which single-sized crushed stone layers of small angular stones are placed in shallow lifts and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the original material) may form; it may also, after rolling, be covered with a binder to keep dust and stones together.

An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles.

Broken stone of even size, bound with tar or bitumen and used in successively compacted layers for surfacing roads and paths.

(Medicine) The sandlike granular material of urinary calculi.

Pavement made of layers of compacted broken stone, now usually bound with asphalt.

To apply a surface of rock fragments or pebbles to.

(uncountable) The surface of a road consisting of layers of crushed stone (usually tar-coated for modern traffic).

To confuse; perplex.

Any road or street.

(Informal) To irritate.

(transitive) To cover or surface with macadam.

(uncountable) Small fragments of rock, used for laying on the beds of roads and railways, and as ballast.

The broken stone used in macadamized roadways.

A type or grade of small rocks, differentiated by mineral type, size range, or other characteristics.

A paved surface formed of compressed layers of broken rocks held together with tar.

A particle from 2 to 64 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.

Paved with macadam{2}.

Kidney stones; a deposit of small calculous concretions in the kidneys and the urinary or gall bladder; also, the disease of which they are a symptom.

Broken stone used in macadamized roadways

A lameness in the foot of a horse, usually caused by an abscess.

A paved surface having compressed layers of broken rocks held together with tar

(rare) Inability to see at night; night blindness.

Gravel cycling, a discipline in cycling different from road cycling, mountain biking or cyclocross, for a large part on gravel roads, typically with a dedicated gravel bike

(transitive) To apply a layer of gravel to the surface of a road, etc.

To puzzle or annoy.

To run (as a ship) upon the gravel or beach; to run aground; to cause to stick fast in gravel or sand.

To check or stop; to confound; to perplex.

To hurt or lame (a horse) by gravel lodged between the shoe and foot.

Small stones, or fragments of stone; very small pebbles, often intermixed with particles of sand.

A deposit of small calculous concretions in the kidneys and the urinary or gall bladder; also, the disease of which they are a symptom.

To cover with gravel; as, to gravel a walk.

To run (as a ship) upon the gravel or beach; to run aground; to cause to stick fast in gravel or sand.

To check or stop; to embarrass; to perplex.

To hurt or lame (a horse) by gravel lodged between the shoe and foot.

Rock fragments and pebbles

Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations;

Cover with gravel;

Be a mystery or bewildering to;

Unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound;