mortar Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that fires shells at high elevations for a short range
    howitzer; trench mortar.
  2. noun used as a bond in masonry or for covering a wall
  3. noun a bowl-shaped vessel in which substances can be ground and mixed with a pestle
  4. verb plaster with mortar
    • mortar the wall

WordNet

Mor"tar noun
Etymology
OE. morter, AS. mortere, L. mortarium: cf. F. mortier mortar. Cf. sense 2 (below), also 2d Mortar, Martel, Morter.
Definitions
  1. A strong vessel, commonly in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or rubbed with a pestle.
  2. F. mortier, fr. L. mortarium mortar (for trituarating). (Mil.) A short piece of ordnance, used for throwing bombs, carcasses, shells, etc., at high angles of elevation, as 45°, and even higher; -- so named from its resemblance in shape to the utensil above described.
Mor"tar noun
Etymology
OE. mortier, F. mortier, L. mortarium mortar, a large basin or trough in which mortar is made, a mortar (in sense 1, above). See 1st Mortar.
Definitions
  1. (Arch.) A building material made by mixing lime, cement, or plaster of Paris, with sand, water, and sometimes other materials; -- used in masonry for joining stones, bricks, etc., also for plastering, and in other ways.
Mor"tar transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To plaster or make fast with mortar.
Mor"tar noun
Etymology
F. mortier. See Mortar a vessel.
Definitions
  1. A chamber lamp or light. Obs. Chaucer.

Webster 1913