: my
—used before a word beginning with a vowel or h
this treasure in mine arms—
William Shakespeare
or sometimes as a modifier of a preceding noun —archaic except in an elevated style
William Shakespeare
singular or plural in construction
: that which belongs to me
—used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective my
Your eyes are brown and mine are green.
1
a
: a pit or excavation in the earth from which mineral substances are taken
b
: an ore deposit
2
: a subterranean passage under an enemy position
3
: an encased explosive that is placed in the ground or in water and set to explode when disturbed
4
: a rich source of supply
mined; mining
1
a
: to dig under to gain access or cause the collapse of (an enemy position)
b
2
a
: to get (something, such as ore) from the earth
b
: to extract from a source
information mined from the files
3
: to burrow beneath the surface of
larva that mines leaves
4
: to place military mines in, on, or under
mine a harbor
5
a
: to dig into for ore or metal
b
: to process for obtaining a natural constituent
mine the air for nitrogen
c
: to seek valuable material in
mine old records for more details
6
: to create or obtain more units of (a cryptocurrency) through a cryptographic process
But bitcoins also need to be generated in the first place. Bitcoins are "mined" when you set your Bitcoin client to a mode that has it compete to update the public log of transactions. All the clients set to this mode race to solve a cryptographic puzzle by completing the next "block" of the shared transaction log. Winning the race to complete the next block wins you a 50-Bitcoin prize.—Tom Simonite
Tom Simonite
: to dig a mine
miner
noun
Synonyms
Examples of mine in a Sentence
Noun
a baseball fanatic who is a mine of fascinating trivia about the game
the soldiers were careful to disarm any mines they found in their path
Verb
The area was soon filled with prospectors who were mining for gold.
Prospectors mined the region for diamonds.
Local people were hired to mine the gold.
The enemy had mined the harbor.
Recent Examples on the WebAmy Beth Hanson, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
Mining difficulty, a measure of computing power to mine Bitcoin, has swelled almost sixfold since the 2020 halving, according to a biweekly update from crypto-mining website btc.com.
—David Pan, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
If interested in a topic, audiences will get to mine BBC content across text, audio, photos video, and more.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2024
Torres now works building homes for and rents to mine workers that have flooded the region.
—Megan Janetsky, Victor R. Caivano and Rodrigo Abd, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
Also, foundations for homes were built with mine tailings, which exposed people to toxic levels of mercury and other toxic substances.
—The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024
The mine backfill inputs have been reviewed and verified by Dr. David Stone, P.Eng. of MineFill Services, Seattle, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Feb. 2024
Until now, Ukraine has not had a national plan on how to deal with the mine problem—its ad hoc response has been split between the military, NGOs, a small number of private mine-clearance companies, and a small network of government mine-clearance operators.
—Justin Ling, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2024
Cathy McGrath is among the closest neighbors to the project, with a home backing onto the mountains and just across an arroyo from where the company intends to move mine tailings.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024
Coral Davenport, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
Nevada is home to the only existing lithium mine in the U.S. and another is currently under construction near the Oregon line 220 miles (354 kilometers) north of Reno.
—Scott Sonner, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
Open-pit mines permanently damage ecosystems by their very nature.
—Jaina Grey, WIRED, 22 Apr. 2024
Their symptoms were the same as mine – depression, suicidal ideation, and the pressure to be a good mother.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Retraining a local workforce accustomed to working in the coal mines and serving the coal industry is also a major undertaking.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
My lifelong partner, Cristóbal Zapata, saw a news item on television about a mine that was operated exclusively by women, something very strange because mining in Chile has always been very male.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
The New York Times reports that Chinese bitcoin mines are now running in at least 14 states.
—David Pogue, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2024
After that, a silver mine at Melle in France became the dominant source of the precious metal.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Sacramento Bee, 25 Apr. 2024
The fewer bitcoins that get mined, the more valuable bitcoin becomes.
—Rafael Nam, NPR, 16 Apr. 2024
The Karen National Liberation Army, which has been fighting the Tatmadaw for decades, knows the terrain and can be expected to mine roads and stage ambushes to slow its advance.
—Richard C. Paddock, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Combing through that information required building a specialized database, and the team also wrote a computer program to mine Arizona’s byzantine facility citation website.
—Wyatt Buchanan, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
For that, Holland continued to mine Capote’s words for inspiration.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2024
In 2024, scientists are figuring out how to mine with plants, known as phytomining.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2024
But an expert for the plaintiffs said BNSF and its predecessors sponsored geologic reports in the area and knew as early as the 1920s that the vermiculite mined near Libby had asbestos.
—Amy Beth Hanson, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
But an expert for the plaintiffs said BNSF and its predecessors knew asbestos was in the vermiculite mined near Libby as early as the 1920s after sponsoring geologic reports in the area.
—Amy Beth Hanson and Matthew Brown, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
Adjective
The Environmental Protection Agency descended on Libby after 1999 news reports of illnesses and deaths among mine workers and their families.
—Amy Beth Hanson, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
Mining difficulty, a measure of computing power to mine Bitcoin, has swelled almost sixfold since the 2020 halving, according to a biweekly update from crypto-mining website btc.com.
—David Pan, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024
If interested in a topic, audiences will get to mine BBC content across text, audio, photos video, and more.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2024
Torres now works building homes for and rents to mine workers that have flooded the region.
—Megan Janetsky, Victor R. Caivano and Rodrigo Abd, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
Also, foundations for homes were built with mine tailings, which exposed people to toxic levels of mercury and other toxic substances.
—The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024
The mine backfill inputs have been reviewed and verified by Dr. David Stone, P.Eng. of MineFill Services, Seattle, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Feb. 2024
Until now, Ukraine has not had a national plan on how to deal with the mine problem—its ad hoc response has been split between the military, NGOs, a small number of private mine-clearance companies, and a small network of government mine-clearance operators.
—Justin Ling, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2024
Cathy McGrath is among the closest neighbors to the project, with a home backing onto the mountains and just across an arroyo from where the company intends to move mine tailings.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
Raising Costs to Drill: The Biden administration raised the royalty rates that fossil fuel companies pay the government in order to drill and mine on public lands, the first time since 1920 that those fees have increased.
—Coral Davenport, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024
Nevada is home to the only existing lithium mine in the U.S. and another is currently under construction near the Oregon line 220 miles (354 kilometers) north of Reno.
—Scott Sonner, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
Open-pit mines permanently damage ecosystems by their very nature.
—Jaina Grey, WIRED, 22 Apr. 2024
Their symptoms were the same as mine – depression, suicidal ideation, and the pressure to be a good mother.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Retraining a local workforce accustomed to working in the coal mines and serving the coal industry is also a major undertaking.
—Evan Halper, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
My lifelong partner, Cristóbal Zapata, saw a news item on television about a mine that was operated exclusively by women, something very strange because mining in Chile has always been very male.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
The New York Times reports that Chinese bitcoin mines are now running in at least 14 states.
—David Pogue, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2024
After that, a silver mine at Melle in France became the dominant source of the precious metal.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
Verb
Highlights Total number of Bitcoin mined during 2023 was 1,760, or 4.8 Bitcoin per day.
—Sacramento Bee, 25 Apr. 2024
The fewer bitcoins that get mined, the more valuable bitcoin becomes.
—Rafael Nam, NPR, 16 Apr. 2024
The Karen National Liberation Army, which has been fighting the Tatmadaw for decades, knows the terrain and can be expected to mine roads and stage ambushes to slow its advance.
—Richard C. Paddock, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Combing through that information required building a specialized database, and the team also wrote a computer program to mine Arizona’s byzantine facility citation website.
—Wyatt Buchanan, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
For that, Holland continued to mine Capote’s words for inspiration.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2024
In 2024, scientists are figuring out how to mine with plants, known as phytomining.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2024
But an expert for the plaintiffs said BNSF and its predecessors sponsored geologic reports in the area and knew as early as the 1920s that the vermiculite mined near Libby had asbestos.
—Amy Beth Hanson, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
But an expert for the plaintiffs said BNSF and its predecessors knew asbestos was in the vermiculite mined near Libby as early as the 1920s after sponsoring geologic reports in the area.
—Amy Beth Hanson and Matthew Brown, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mine
Cite this Entry
“Mine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mine. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mine
2 of 4 pronounˈmīn
: my one : my ones
mine
3 of 4 nounˈmīn
1
: a pit or tunnel from which minerals (as coal, gold, or diamonds) are taken
2
: a deposit of ore
3
: an underground passage dug beneath an enemy position
4
: an explosive device placed in the ground or water and set to explode when disturbed
5
: a rich source
a mine of information
mine
4 of 4 verbˈmīn
mined; mining
1
: to dig or form mines under a place
2
: to obtain from a mine
mine coal
3
: to lay military mines in or under
mine a harbor
4
: to work in a mine
miner
noun
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English min "my," from Old English mīn
Noun
Middle English mine "a pit or tunnel for digging out coal, gold, or diamonds," from early French mine (same meaning)
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