mortar

The word “mortar” means a paste of sand, water and cement or lime used to bond bricks or stones together. In plain terms, the stuff that holds bricks together, a bowl for grinding, or a weapon that lobs shells — context makes it clear which.

“Mortar” is pronounced MAW-tuh (/ˈmɔːtə(ɹ)/ in IPA).

Here is “mortar” used in a sentence: “The bricklayer spread a thin layer of mortar before setting each brick.”

Depending on how it is used, “mortar” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “mortar” comes from Latin. From Old French mortier, from Latin mortarium — the same word originally covered both the grinding bowl and, later, the building paste and the weapon, all linked by the idea of "pounding" or "mixing".

“Mortar” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Mortar” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a paste of sand, water and cement or lime used to bond bricks or stones together.

Cement is one ingredient used to make mortar, which is a paste of sand, water, and cement or lime used to bond bricks or stones together in construction. Cement alone is not typically used for bonding; it must be mixed with sand and water to form mortar.

A mortar is the small bowl used to hold ingredients while a pestle is the tool used to crush or grind them inside it; the two are always used together as a pair, commonly called a mortar and pestle.

As a military term, mortar refers to a short-barreled weapon that fires shells high into the air to hit targets at a steep angle, and as a verb, to mortar means to attack a target by firing mortar shells at it.