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mortar

Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːtə/

The English word “mortar” has 9 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks.
  2. A hollow vessel used to pound, crush, rub, grind or mix ingredients with a pestle.
  3. A short, heavy, large-bore cannon designed for indirect fire at very steep trajectories.
  4. A relatively lightweight, often portable indirect fire weapon which transmits recoil to a base plate and is designed to lob explosive shells at very steep trajectories.
  5. In paper milling, a trough in which material is hammered.

verb

  1. To use mortar or plaster to join two things together.
  2. To pound in a mortar.
  3. To fire a mortar (weapon).
  4. To attack (someone or something) using a mortar (weapon).

Etymology

From Middle English morter, from Old French mortier, from Latin mortārium. Doublet of mortarium.

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