mortar

¹ American  

[mawr-ter] / ˈmɔr tər /

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to attack with mortar fire or shells.

mortar ² American  

[mawr-ter] / ˈmɔr tər /

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to plaster or fix with mortar.

mortar British  

/ 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

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verb

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

2. to fire on with mortars

3. dialect to trample (on)

mortar Idioms  

1. see bricks and mortar.

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Other Word Forms

• mortarless
  adjective
• mortary
  adjective

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Etymology

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; see -ar ²

Origin of mortar²

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

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Explanation

A mortar is a bowl-shaped container that you can grind things in using a pestle. You probably buy your spices pre-ground at the store, but if you wanted to be old-school, you could grind them yourself with a mortar and pestle. Mortar is an old word — it comes from Old English, and using a mortar to smash things up is old way of cooking. It's also the builder's paste used between bricks. If you've heard the phrase "brick and mortar," that's a style of building, as well as a general phrase for something with a real building (as opposed to an internet business). And it's also a gun that fires high bullets that land short-range.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mortar

At the same time, it evolved enormous molars suited to grinding and crushing tough, hard foods, functioning much like a mortar and pestle.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

The munitions, both German and French, consist mainly of mortar shells, along with some high-explosive anti-tank shells.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

Also on Heritage Crafts' red list is dry stone walling - an ancient method of building structures from interlocking stones without using any mortar.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

He also said he was shocked by the poor construction of the buildings, with plastic foam having been used as mortar filler between cement slabs and insufficient reinforcing steel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

I put out the bag of jewelry and dirt and the mortar and pestle on the shawl with my diary on top of my extra salwar kameez and underwear.

From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani

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Related Words

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

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