Illustration of mortar
- M mortar
- P pestle
1
: a sturdy vessel in which material is pounded or rubbed with a pestle
crushed the seeds in a mortar
2
[Middle French mortier]
a
: a portable muzzle-loading weapon having a tube short in relation to its caliber (see caliber sense 2b) that is used to throw bombs at high angles
mortars fired at the enemy positions
b
: any of several similar firing devices
: a shapable building material (such as a mixture of cement, lime, or gypsum plaster with sand and water) that hardens and is used in masonry or plastering
mortarless
adjective
mortared; mortaring; mortars
: to plaster or make fast with mortar
Cite this Entry
“Mortar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortar. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
