mor‧tar /ˈmɔːtə $ ˈmɔːrtər/ noun
[Date: 1000-1100; Language: Old French; Origin: mortier, from Latin mortarium]

1. [uncountable] a mixture of cement or lime, and sand and water, used in building for holding bricks or stones together

2. [countable] a heavy gun that fires bombs or shells in a high curve:
A cameraman was killed when his vehicle came under mortar fire.
a mortar attack

3.
[countable] a stone bowl in which substances are crushed with a pestle (=tool with a heavy round end):
You’ll need a pestle and mortar to grind the spices.
⇒ bricks and mortar at brick¹(2)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

mortar
noun
ADJ. heavy They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground.
VERB + MORTAR be armed with, have Their troops were armed with mortars and machine guns.
fire
MORTAR + VERB burst, explode The occasional mortar burst near our truck.
hit sth
MORTAR + NOUN attack, fire We were under constant mortar fire.
bomb, shell hit by a mortar shell

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲