mortarboard

noun

"mortarboard" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mortarboard” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A rectangular board, with a handle, on which mortar or plaster is carried: a hawk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mortarboard · mortarboard · English

mortarboard · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "M" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for mortarboard
PropertyValue
Headwordmortarboard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mortarboard” in English

mortarboardranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mortarboard is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

mortarboard has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mortar + board. The correct English form is mortarboard, spelled M-O-R-T-A-R-B-O-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rectangular board, with a handle, on which mortar or plaster is carried: a hawk.
  2. 2
    An academic cap that has a flat square top with a tassel.

Etymology

From mortar + board.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mortarboard"?
"mortarboard" is spelled M-O-R-T-A-R-B-O-A-R-D.
What does "mortarboard" mean?
As a noun, "mortarboard" means: A rectangular board, with a handle, on which mortar or plaster is carried: a hawk.
What is the origin of the word "mortarboard"?
From mortar + board. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list