variants
or less commonly mortice
: a hole, groove, or slot into or through which some other part of an arrangement of parts fits or passes
especially
: a cavity cut into a piece of material (such as timber) to receive a tenon see dovetail illustration
variants
or less commonly mortice
mortised also morticed; mortising also morticing
1
: to join or fasten securely
specifically
: to join or fasten by a tenon and mortise
2
: to cut or make a mortise in
Examples of mortise in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kody Boye, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024
The beams were assembled using mortise and tenon joinery, in which a protruding tenon slots into a mortise hole and is held fast with an oak peg.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Alice Adams, Houston Chronicle, 20 Sep. 2019
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Noun
The main hall was constructed with a large timber frame structure fabricated and assembled in a traditional mortise and tenon method, with no steel components.
—Kody Boye, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024
The beams were assembled using mortise and tenon joinery, in which a protruding tenon slots into a mortise hole and is held fast with an oak peg.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
It is mortised throughout and the home's joints were set in white lead.
—Alice Adams, Houston Chronicle, 20 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for mortise
Dictionary Entries Near mortise
Cite this Entry
“Mortise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortise. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mortise
1 of 2 noun
mor·tise
ˈmȯrt-əs 
: a hole or groove cut in a piece of wood or other material into which another piece fits so as to form a joint
mortise
2 of 2 verb
mortised; mortising
1
: to join or fasten securely especially by a tenon and mortise
2
: to cut a mortise in
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