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
Examples of mortar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sean Conlon,fred Imbert, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
And earlier this month, three inmates escaped a different Louisiana jail after removing mortar and concrete blocks from a wall.
—Nic Anderson, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
Tory Basile, IndyStar, 5 Dec. 2025
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
This bet on brick and mortar seems to have paid off, as far as investors are concerned.
—Sean Conlon,fred Imbert, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
And earlier this month, three inmates escaped a different Louisiana jail after removing mortar and concrete blocks from a wall.
—Nic Anderson, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
Verb
Shelburn’s neighbor, a stonemason, taught them how to mortar and lay bricks.
—Tory Basile, IndyStar, 5 Dec. 2025
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 31 Dec. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share