Definition of "mortar" []

• A vessel in which substances are crushed or ground with a pestle. (noun)
• A machine in which materials are ground and blended or crushed. (noun)
• A portable, muzzleloading cannon used to fire shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high trajectories. (noun)
• Any of several similar devices, such as one that shoots life lines across a stretch of water. (noun)
• Any of various bonding materials used in masonry, surfacing, and plastering, especially a plastic mixture of cement or lime, sand, and water that hardens in place and is used to bind together bricks or stones. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I note he used the term mortar, rather than howitzer, but the implication is certainly the same."
• "(If people had seen anyone firing a mortar from the middle of the street outside the school, they likely would not have continued to mill around.)"
• "The mortar is not placed properly thus there is no strength!!"