mortar

¹

[mawr-ter]

noun

1. a receptacle of hard material, having a bowl-shaped cavity in which substances are reduced to powder with a pestle.

2. any of various mechanical appliances in which substances are pounded or ground.

3. a cannon very short in proportion to its bore, for throwing shells at high angles.

4. some similar contrivance, as for throwing pyrotechnic bombs or a lifeline.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to attack with mortar fire or shells.

mortar

²

[mawr-ter]

noun

1. a mixture of lime or cement or a combination of both with sand and water, used as a bonding agent between bricks, stones, etc.

2. any of various materials or compounds for bonding together bricks, stones, etc..

   Bitumen was used as a mortar.

verb (used with object)

1. to plaster or fix with mortar.

mortar

/ ˈmɔːtə /

noun

1. a mixture of cement or lime or both with sand and water, used as a bond between bricks or stones or as a covering on a wall

2. a muzzle-loading cannon having a short barrel and relatively wide bore that fires low-velocity shells in high trajectories over a short range

3. a similar device for firing lifelines, fireworks, etc

4. a vessel, usually bowl-shaped, in which substances are pulverized with a pestle

5. mining a cast-iron receptacle in which ore is crushed

verb

1. to join (bricks or stones) or cover (a wall) with mortar

2. to fire on with mortars

3. dialect,  to trample (on)

Other Word Forms

• mortarless adjective
• mortary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mortar¹

before 1000; Middle English, Old English mortere and Old French mortier < Latin mortārium; mortar ¹ ( defs. 3, 4 ) translation of French mortier < Latin, as above; -ar ²

Origin of mortar²

1250–1300; Middle English morter < Anglo-French; Old French mortier mortar ¹, hence the mixture produced in it

Word History and Origins

Origin of mortar¹

C13: from Latin mortārium basin in which mortar is mixed; in some senses, via Old French mortier substance mixed inside such a vessel

Idioms and Phrases

see bricks and mortar.

Example Sentences

But the idea of home is harder to destroy than bricks and mortar.

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"We were hit by artillery, mortar rounds and glide bombs," he explains.

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Rachel Williams, the vice chair of the rancheria, sat on the ground, grinding acorn meat in a stone mortar that had been handed down by her great grandmother.

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Speculative tech bubbles such as the dotcom boom of the 1990s lacked a bricks and mortar base.

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The whole area echoes to the sound of exploding mortar and artillery shells.

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Related Words

• cannon 
• handgun 
• hardware 
• piece 
• pistol 
• revolver 
• rifle 
• shotgun