| Mortar 1. (n.) A strong vessel, commonly in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or rubbed with a pestle. 2. (n.) 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. 3. (n.) 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. 4. (v. t.) To plaster or make fast with mortar. 5. (n.) A chamber lamp or light. Thesaurus Entries adobe, aim at, alembic, anvil, ashlar, barrage, blast, blitz, bombard, brick, bricks and mortar, caldron, cannon, cannonade, cement, clinker, commence firing, concrete, covering materials, crucible, enfilade, engine, ferroconcrete, fire a volley, fire at, fire upon, firebrick, flag, flagstone, flooring, fusillade, grout, lath and plaster, lathe, machine, masonry, mastic, melting pot, motor, open fire, open up on, parget, pavement, paving, paving material, pepper, plaster, plasters, pop at, prestressed concrete, rake, retort, roofage, roofing, roughcast, shell, shoot, shoot at, siding, snipe, snipe at, stone, strafe, stucco, take aim at, test tube, tile, tiling, torpedo, transducer, transformer, walling, zero in on |