mortar
noun /ˈmɔːtə(r)/
/ˈmɔːrtər/
- [uncountable] a mixture of sand, water, lime and cement used in building for holding bricks and stones togetherTopics Buildingsc2
- [countable] a heavy gun that fires bombs and shells high into the air; the bombs that are fired by this gun
- to come under mortar fire/attack
Extra ExamplesTopics War and conflictc2- The occasional mortar burst near our truck.
- Their troops were armed with mortars and machine guns.
- They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground.
- We were under constant mortar fire.
- hit by a mortar shell
- Two soldiers were killed when their patrol came under mortar fire.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- heavy
- be armed with
- have
- fire
- …
- burst
- explode
- land
- …
- attack
- fire
- bomb
- …
- [countable] a small hard bowl in which you can crush substances such as seeds and grains to make them into powder with a special object (called a pestle)Topics Scientific researchc2
enlarge image see also bricks and mortar
Word Originnoun sense 1 Middle English: from Old French mortier, from Latin mortarium, probably a transferred sense of the word denoting a container. noun senses 2 to 3 late Old English (in sense (3)), from Old French mortier, from Latin mortarium (to which the English spelling was later assimilated).