open-pit

adjective

US
: involving the removal of the surface of a large area of land to get at a mineral or other material that is near to the surface
an open-pit mine

Examples of open-pit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
An open-pit vermiculite mine, which operated from 1963 to 1990, coated the area — and residents’ lungs — with needle-like asbestos fibers. Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 13 Nov. 2024 Current methods rely on open-pit mining or the months-long process of evaporating water in gigantic ponds. Daniel Moore, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024 Australia’s primary legacy on Bougainville is Panguna, a colossal, open-pit copper and gold mine that, while dormant, is still one of the largest on earth, and whose controversial operation kindled the Bougainvillean uprising. Sean Williams, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024 The highlight of the festival is the street-side lamb roast with eight rotating open-pit spits. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 21 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for open-pit 

Dictionary Entries Near open-pit

Cite this Entry

“Open-pit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open-pit. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!