mine

1 of 4

adjective

: my
used before a word beginning with a vowel or h
this treasure in mine armsWilliam Shakespeare
or sometimes as a modifier of a preceding noun
archaic except in an elevated style

mine

2 of 4

pronoun

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.

mine

3 of 4

noun

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

mine

4 of 4

verb

mined; mining

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to dig a mine
miner noun

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 Web
Adjective
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 To fund these wars, Congolese leaders sold mine sites to foreigners. Amel Mukhtar, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2024 To add to the mystery, Scarpetta’s assistant discovers a footprint in the mine dust that could only belong to Bigfoot. Sandra Dallas, The Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2024 Make mine pork dumplings draped with a creamy blanket of sesame seeds and lit with chile oil. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024 It was made clear that my career trajectory was not mine to own. Kate Wieczorek, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 LaKeith Stanfield as Apollo on 'The Changeling' | Credit: Apple TV+ Such haunting lore allowed the creative team, which features LaValle himself as series narrator, to mine parenthood in new ways. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2023 Finland will also join artillery and mine clearance operations under the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the body that coordinates military assistance by 54 Ukraine allies, within and outside NATO. Katya Soldak, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 More and more, data centers are cropping up to mine Bitcoin and train AI. Justine Calma, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2024
Noun
Another study from 2018 measured the accumulation of manganese dust in the hair and organs of wild quolls living near an active mine. Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024 Kingsville is a 422-foot aluminum-hull trimaran that is designed to operate in shallow, near-shore waters, primarily to identify and neutralize mines and to conduct maritime security. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2024 Sweden’s Saab Group is exporting underwater drones to a host of countries worried about naval mines, like Kuwait. Ariel Cohen, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The mine was proposed by an Australian mining corporation currently known as Sandfire Resources America. Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 28 Feb. 2024 For example, developing countries could agree to expedite permits for mines and processing facilities that produce the metals needed for batteries and other green technologies. Peter E. Harrell, Foreign Affairs, 26 Feb. 2024 But mines that closed generations ago operated when few if any rules were in effect. Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024 Mother-daughter relationships are complicated, and mine is no exception. Cheryl Maguire, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024 Among them is the pending expansion of southwestern Wyoming’s Black Butte coal mine, which has been approved by state officials and is awaiting federal approval, according to the industry group. Matthew Brown, The Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
Like the stone, Peridot is sleek and captivating with its modern design, and nods to Vietnam, the place where the gem is mined. Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024 From the late 1940s to the 1980s, Kerr-McGee Corporation mined more than 7 million tons of uranium ore on or near the Navajo Nation. The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 For the purposes of the PEA, the Zinc Zone (together with the Silver Zone) will be mined at a rate of 2.0 Mtpa, whilst the Tin Zone will be mined at a rate of 0.3 Mtpa. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Feb. 2024 The new crop of biopics puts those foibles front and center, mining the conflict that can arise with a vigor that rivals the Great Man’s ambitious pursuits. Kyle Buchanan, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Currently, about 900 BTC are mined per day; this will drop to around 450. Frank Holmes, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 That compares to more than 400 million tons of coal mined from federal lands in 2014. Matthew Brown, Quartz, 21 Feb. 2024 This happens every four years and will continue until all 21 million bitcoins are mined. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 China, for instance, has been mining Western social media, including Facebook and X, to furnish its security services with information on foreign targets, The Washington Post reported in 2021. Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Pronoun

Middle English min, from Old English mīn — more at my

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *mina, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Welsh mwyn ore

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of mine was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near mine

Cite this Entry

“Mine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mine. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mine

1 of 4 adjective
archaic
: my
used before a word beginning with a vowel or h or after a noun

mine

2 of 4 pronoun
ˈmīn
: my one : my ones

mine

3 of 4 noun
ˈmīn
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 verb
ˈmīn
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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