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 plastic 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
Examples of mortar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Local restaurants and bars, though, can’t simply apply on their own to bring their brick and mortar concepts to the San Diego airport.
—Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
Xanthe Scharff, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for mortar
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Noun
Researchers also pinpointed the dam's age to a very slim 10-year margin, thanks to twigs and branches that were embedded in the dam's mortar.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Local restaurants and bars, though, can’t simply apply on their own to bring their brick and mortar concepts to the San Diego airport.
—Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
Their homes, mortared with mud and topped with straw, are vulnerable to rain.
—Xanthe Scharff, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for mortar
Cite this Entry
“Mortar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortar. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mortar
1 of 2 noun
mor·tar
ˈmȯrt-ər 
1
: a strong deep bowl in which substances are pounded or crushed with a pestle
2
: a short muzzle-loading cannon used to fire shells at a low speed and at high angles
mortar
2 of 2 noun
: a building material made of lime and cement mixed with sand and water that is spread between bricks or stones so as to hold them together when it hardens
mortar
verb
Medical Definition
mortar
noun
mor·tar
ˈmȯrt-ər
: a strong vessel in which material is pounded or rubbed with a pestle
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