mortar
mortar Lexical Profile
mortar Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A workable paste, typically made from a mixture of cement, sand, and water, used to bind building blocks such as stones, bricks, and concrete masonry units together.
"The stonemason carefully applied the mortar to ensure the historic brick wall would remain stable for decades."
A bowl-shaped vessel, typically made of hard material like stone, wood, or ceramic, in which ingredients are crushed or ground using a pestle.
"The pharmacist used a marble mortar and pestle to grind the dried herbs into a fine, medicinal powder."
A short, smoothbore artillery piece designed to fire explosive shells at high trajectories over short distances.
"The infantry regiment deployed a heavy mortar to provide indirect fire support over the ridge."
• verb
To plaster, join, or bind together using a workable paste of cement and sand.
"They spent the entire afternoon mortaring the loose fieldstones on the garden retaining wall."
To bombard or fire upon a target using a short, high-trajectory artillery weapon.
"The besieged outpost was heavily mortared throughout the night, forcing the defenders into their underground bunkers."
Word Nuance & Usage
In construction, 'mortar' is often confused with 'cement' or 'concrete'; however, cement is the binding powder, concrete is the poured structural material, and mortar is the thick paste specifically used to hold bricks or blocks together.
• Rhymes for mortar
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'morter', borrowed from Old French 'mortier' and Latin 'mortarium', meaning a receptacle for pounding, which later came to refer to the crushed materials or cement produced within it.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.