Definition of "gravel" []

• An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles. (noun)
• Pathology The sandlike granular material of urinary calculi. (noun)
• To apply a surface of rock fragments or pebbles to. (verb-transitive)
• To confuse; perplex. (verb-transitive)
• Informal To irritate. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Idle speculation makes me think that excluding gravel from the mixture may make the surface more uniform and free from discontinuities (slight depressions where gravel is on the surface, voids where gravel comes out of the mixture during curing, etc.) which could be the starting point for blistering (air would expand at a much higher rate than concrete when heated, and the membrane coating might not adhere as well to the gravel)."
• "Most of our gravel is dark and covered with dark green moss."
• "Here we had carried many loads of gravel from the creek-bed, so that it was dry and warm, a pleasant basking place; and here, one afternoon, I was drowsing, half asleep, over a volume of Mendenhall. 4 I was so comfortable and secure that even his flaming lyrics failed to stir me."