What does pestle mean?
Word: Pestle
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Pestle means a heavy tool with a rounded end, used for crushing or grinding spices and seeds in a bowl called a mortar.
How do you spell pestle?
Syllables: pes - tle
Tricky part: The t is silent, so you hear 'pess-l', but a t must still be written after the s.
Watch out for: pessle, pesle
Memory tip: Picture the pestle standing upright in the mortar like a tall letter t: it is there even though you never hear it.
Pestle in a sentence
Example 1: Nani pounds ginger and garlic with a stone pestle every morning.
Example 2: The chemist in the old film crushed herbs with a brass pestle.
Example 3: We took turns with the pestle to grind the cardamom for the kheer.
Fun Fact
In many Indian homes a brass mortar and pestle set is called an imam dasta, and it is still used to crush whole spices.
Practise the CREST Way
Sound Check
Which of the following words rhymes with pestle?
a) vessel
b) hassle
c) fossil
d) tassel
Show answer
a) vessel. Vessel and pestle share the short e sound and the soft ending; tassel and hassle have an a sound and fossil an o sound.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) lock : key
b) pestel : mortar
c) bat : ball
d) needle : thread
Show answer
b) pestel : mortar. These are pairs used together, and the tool that goes with a mortar is spelt pestle, ending in -le.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Ravi crushed the cumin seeds in a mortar with a ________.
a) pestle
b) spatula
c) ladle
d) grater
Show answer
a) pestle. A ladle serves, a spatula flips and a grater shreds; the tool that crushes seeds in a mortar is a pestle.
Word Tally
Give 2 marks for every misspelt word. What is the total?
pestle, kettel, tiffin, colandar, sieve
a) 2
b) 8
c) 6
d) 4
Show answer
d) 4. Kettel and colandar are wrong (kettle, colander); two misspelt words make 4 marks.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A pestle is shaped most like a ____.
a) flat, round plate
b) long, thin needle
c) hollow, square box
d) short, thick rod
Show answer
d) short, thick rod
2. What would you most likely crush with a pestle?
a) a scoop of ice cream
b) a loaf of bread
c) a watermelon
d) black peppercorns
Show answer
d) black peppercorns
