Meaning & use

pestle

noun·Academic

A small, heavy tool with a rounded end, used to crush or grind substances in a mortar.

See it in a sentence

She ground the spices with a pestle until they formed a fine powder.

The pharmacist used a mortar and pestle to mix the ingredients for the cream.

A note on using this word

Pestle is almost always paired with 'mortar,' the bowl it is used against, as in 'mortar and pestle.'

Words with a similar meaning

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