mortar fire
11
7.9
- noun
- /ˈmɔrtər faɪər/
- The soldiers took cover from the incoming mortar fire during the battle.
- heavy mortar fire
- incoming mortar fire
- hit by mortar fire
Examples
-
Iron Dome could not provide defenses to villages close to the Gaza border, which suffered from continuous mortar fire.
Academic text (2015) -
An American spokesman reported rockets, artillery and mortar fire...
-
Heavy enemy mortar fire on the beach.
-
We're under heavy mortar fire.
-
Heavy mortar fire at Scout Camp One.
-
The two security officers were killed by mortar fire, the senior U.S. intelligence official said, adding that the attack lasted 11 minutes.
Blog text (33) -
The Viet Cong hit it with mortar fire 3 or 4 times a week.
-
Despite continual mortar fire, little damage was done against the deeply entrenched Japanese.
Fiction book (1990) -
After the diplomats fled to a safe house, they came under attack by well-directed mortar fire.
Blog text (28) -
It is precise, and some of the mortar fire lands on the roof of the annex.
Blog text (12)
Synonyms
602
5.9
Shooting weapons at an enemy or target
36
7.0
A long, heavy attack with bombs or large guns on a place
35
8.3
Firing large guns at an area, often not aimed at a specific target
18
6.8
A sudden series of shots fired quickly, for example from guns
14
7.6
A heavy continuous attack by large guns across an area
11
6.9
A heavy attack by military guns and cannons on enemy positions
4
4.9
Loud shots from large guns used in an attack
4
7.0
An attack in which an enemy shoots at people
1
9.3
A long heavy stream of shots from large guns across a wide area to hit many places
1
8.8
Heavy firing of large guns causes explosions at a place
1
9.9
A long, very loud attack by many heavy guns firing rapidly
How Intense
- Specialized
1
9.3
11
7.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward compositional combination of 'mortar' (the weapon) + 'fire' (the act of firing); the phrase simply denotes firing delivered by mortars. This noun-noun pattern is predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Mortar fire comes from the image of a mortar — a short, strong tube that sends explosive shells high into the air — and fire meaning 'shooting'. So, mortar fire means many explosive shells being shot in arcs toward a place.