mortise
Americannoun
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a notch, hole, groove, or slot made in a piece of wood or the like to receive a tenon of the same dimensions.
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a deep recess cut into wood for any of several other purposes, as for receiving a mortise lock.
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Printing. a space cut out of a plate, especially for the insertion of type or another plate.
verb (used with object)
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to secure with a mortise and tenon
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to cut or form a mortise in (a piece of wood or the like).
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to join securely.
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Printing.
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to cut metal from (a plate).
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to cut out metal from a plate and insert (new material) in its place.
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noun
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a slot or recess, usually rectangular, cut into a piece of wood, stone, etc, to receive a matching projection (tenon) of another piece, or a mortise lock
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printing a cavity cut into a letterpress printing plate into which type or another plate is inserted
verb
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to cut a slot or recess in (a piece of wood, stone, etc)
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to join (two pieces of wood, stone, etc) by means of a mortise and tenon
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to cut a cavity in (a letterpress printing plate) for the insertion of type, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mortisesimple
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mortisessimple
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have mortisedperfect
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has mortisedperfect
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am mortisingprogressive
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are mortisingprogressive
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is mortisingprogressive
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have been mortisingperfect progressive
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has been mortisingperfect progressive
Past
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mortisedsimple
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had mortisedperfect
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was mortisingprogressive
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were mortisingprogressive
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had been mortisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mortise
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English morteys, mortaise, from Anglo-French mortais(e), Old French mortoise; of obscure origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If not, then you may have to set the hinge plate deeper in its mortise.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2020
Woodwork with mortise and tenon joints, original and restored hardware and tile-faced fireplaces are found throughout the nearly 6,000 square feet of living space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2020
But Andrew Baren, the president of Katonah Architectural Hardware, recommended using a mortise latch, which is not only more resilient, but can be made with stronger springs to support heavier door levers.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2019
Thick hand-hewn oak beams connected with slotted and tabbed mortise and tenon joints provide the bones of the building, which has deliberately been left unfurnished to showcase its construction.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 19, 2015
Iron rod threaded through three rusted loops, old mortise lock with a rusty cam.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
It was fortunate they did, as it happened, for it afterwards occurred to the assistant that he had forgotten to allow for mortises and joints.
From Scamping Tricks and Odd Knowledge Occasionally Practised upon Public Works by Newman, John Henry
The tower once had contained three floors, one above the other; the mortises for the sleepers being yet visible, ranged regularly and at equal distances around the inner side.
From Captain Kyd (Vol 1 of 2) or, The Wizard of the Sea by Ingraham, Jonathon Holt
If the wood shrinks, or the tenons do not fit the mortises all through, or the glue is deficient, these various portions speedily come to pieces.
From British Manufacturing Industries Pottery, Glass and Silicates, Furniture and Woodwork. by Arnoux, L.
When the teeth of a wheel are inserted in mortises or slots provided in the wheel-rim, it is termed a mortised-wheel, or a cogged-wheel, and the teeth are termed cogs.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua
On account of the dovetailing the wedges exert a pressure pressing the teeth into the mortises.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua
There was the strange commercial released by his loyal sponsor Nike, in which a rigor mortised Mr. Woods received counsel from the disembodied voice of his late father, Earl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2010
Smoothly mortised and joined by Director Ted Tetzlaff and Producer Frederic Ullman Jr., The Window emerges as a fast little thriller full of grade A qualities.
From Time Magazine Archive
In like manner a timber is mortised into two of the large beams, at the top beneath the clamps; this has an iron bearing in which the other iron journal of the axle revolves.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius
These cross-bars should be carefully mortised into the frame as shown in the small diagram in center of figure three.
From Woodcraft by Kreps, E. H. (Elmer Harry)
The other ends of these two small cross-beams are mortised into an upright timber, six feet three palms long, and three-quarters wide and thick; the mortise is transfixed by wooden pegs.
From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius
In order to obviate this inconvenience, I designed an arrangement of a key-groove mortising machine.
From James Nasmyth: Engineer; an autobiography by Smiles, Samuel
Cogged Joints.—This differs from the regular tenoning and mortising methods, principally because the groove or recess is in the form of an open gain.
From Carpentry for Boys In a Simple Language, Including Chapters on Drawing, Laying Out Work, Designing and Architecture With 250 Original Illustrations by Zerbe, James Slough
To work the two went accordingly—adjusting, screwing, squaring, sawing, planing, mortising, until the dinner-bell called them to the house.
From Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished A Tale of City Arab Life and Adventure by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
The doors are now made by mortising the top and bottom pieces to take the 3/8-in. panel which is glued in place.
From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part 2 by Windsor, H. H. (Henry Haven)
To overcome this difficulty the latest types of mortising machines have a square hole-boring attachment fixed alongside the chain.
From Woodwork Joints How they are Set Out, How Made and Where Used. by Fairham, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
