noun
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a black tasselled academic cap with a flat square top covered with cloth
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Also called: hawk. a small square board with a handle on the underside for carrying mortar
Etymology
Origin of mortarboard
Vocabulary lists containing mortarboard
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Trading your mortarboard for a company badge is exciting.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
For her graduation in 2020, she decorated her mortarboard with flower and butterfly cutouts and the words, “For The Lives That I Will Change.”
From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2022
The actor and comedian wore a ceremonial red and black robe and mortarboard hat for the ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2022
Jan. 20: Dr. Jill Biden doubles down by wearing a mortarboard to the inauguration.
From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2021
He motioned for me to wear my mortarboard, and took a picture of me with the school’s clock tower in the background.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
