pestle

UK/ˈpɛsəl/US/ˈpɛsəl/

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,984 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: pestles

A pestle is the short heavy stick used to crush spices in a stone bowl. A pestle and mortar, grind with the pestle, a marble pestle.

The pestle is the stick and the mortar is the bowl, and people mix them up constantly. Crushing releases the oils in a spice in a way that a blade does not, which is why cooks keep one even where a grinder would be faster.

Definitions of pestle

1nounpestleThe short heavy stick used to crush spices in a bowl.B2+
“She crushed the peppercorns in a stone bowl with a pestle.”
- Said"Grab the pestle for me; these seeds need a proper bashing."
- WrittenThe pestles were worn smooth at one end and had cracked a dozen garlic cloves that morning.
- UsedPress and turn the pestle rather than pounding straight down.
- ContrastA pestle, not a spoon. A spoon stirs and scoops; a pestle is a heavy club that crushes. spoon →
- Not thisA rolling pin is not a pestle. A pestle is short, heavy and works in a bowl.
- SimplyUse the pestle. Make the pepper small.
Patterna pestle and mortar · grind / crush sth with a pestle · a wooden / stone pestle

pestle is a tool.

Remember it

PESTle → it PESTers the seeds until they give up

It pesters the seeds, pounding them again and again in the bowl, until they give up and turn to powder.

Where it comes from

Latin pistillum comes from pinsere, to pound. Pistil, the part of a flower, is the same word.

Proto-Indo-European
*peys-
Latin
pistillum
Old French
pestel
Middle English
pestel
English, today
pestle

Built from

pīnsō · Latin — pound, beat

From Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). a doublet of pistil and pistillum.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in In the Kitchen

Practise this word

pestle in the wild

The pestle (, also US: ) is a blunt, club-shaped object.
Mortar and pestle
Large mortars allow some individuals with several pestles to stamp the material faster and more efficiently.
Mortar and pestle
The spices are often ground together with a pestle and mortar.
Tandoori masala
There are many variations; a common one contains garlic, salt, olive oil or vegetable oil, and lemon juice, traditionally crushed together using a wooden mortar and pestle.
Toum
Mussoll (literally pestle) or Mussllam khell is a historic folk dance performed in the state of Goa, India.
Mussoll

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Definitions of pestle

1nounpestleThe short heavy stick used to crush spices in a bowl.B2+

“She crushed the peppercorns in a stone bowl with a pestle.”

Said"Grab the pestle for me; these seeds need a proper bashing."
WrittenThe pestles were worn smooth at one end and had cracked a dozen garlic cloves that morning.
UsedPress and turn the pestle rather than pounding straight down.
ContrastA pestle, not a spoon. A spoon stirs and scoops; a pestle is a heavy club that crushes. spoon →
Not thisA rolling pin is not a pestle. A pestle is short, heavy and works in a bowl.
SimplyUse the pestle. Make the pepper small.

Patterna pestle and mortar · grind / crush sth with a pestle · a wooden / stone pestle

pestle is a tool.