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# tartar

noun (tartar — uncountable; a Tartar, Tartars)

«tartar» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Tartar is a hard yellowish coating that builds up on teeth if they are not cleaned well. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#m1)
2. Tartar sauce (also tartare) is a creamy sauce with pickles, often eaten with fish. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#m2)
3. Cream of tartar is a white powder used in baking. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#m3)
4. (history) A Tartar (more correctly Tatar) is a member of a Turkic people of Russia and Central Asia; Crimean Tatars are a people of Crimea in Ukraine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#m4)
5. (old-fashioned) A tartar is a fierce, bad-tempered person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#m5)

### In the lessons

In health lessons tartar comes with brushing, flossing and the dentist; in cooking, fish and chips with tartar sauce; in history and news about Crimea, the Tatars; in old stories, a strict, fierce person.

### Examples

- The dentist scraped the tartar off my teeth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x1)
- Brushing twice a day helps stop tartar building up. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x2)
- I like tartar sauce with my fish fingers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x3)
- Add a pinch of cream of tartar to the egg whites. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x4)
- Many Crimean Tatars were forced from their homes long ago. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x5)
- The old housekeeper was a real tartar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x6)
- "Get me a surety," says the Tartar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/#x7)

### Note

Uncountable for teeth and sauce. For the people, the modern, correct spelling is «Tatar»; «Tartar» is older and seen as less correct. Do not confuse with «tartan» (checked cloth) or «tart».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «tartar» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tartar/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«tartar» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tartar.html) on Mova free.