mortar

Meanings

Noun

• A mixture of lime or cement, sand and water used for bonding building blocks.
• A muzzle-loading, indirect fire weapon with a tube length of 10 to 20 calibers and designed to lob shells at very steep trajectories.
• A hollow vessel used to pound, crush, rub, grind or mix ingredients with a pestle.
• In paper milling, a trough in which material is hammered.

Verb

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

Origin

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