ore

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈȯr 

often attributive

1

: a naturally occurring mineral containing a valuable constituent (such as metal) for which it is mined and worked

2

: a source from which valuable matter is extracted

ore

2 of 4

noun (2)

ˈər-ə 

plural ore

a monetary subunit of the krona (Sweden) and krone see krona, krone at Money Table

Ore

3 of 4

abbreviation

variants or Oreg

Oregon

øre

4 of 4

noun (3)

ˈər-ə 

plural øre

1

: a Danish monetary unit equal to ¹/₁₀₀ krone see krone at Money Table

also : a coin representing one Danish øre

Note: Denmark's Faeroe Islands and Greenland also use an øre.

2

: a Norwegian monetary unit equal to ¹/₁₀₀ krone see krone at Money Table

also : a coin representing one Norwegian øre

Examples of ore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Lehigh Valley was synonymous with manufacturing from the early 19th century, its abundant coalfields and iron ore deposits firing the industry that fueled America’s rise. —Akayla Gardner, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024

For every 100,000 tons of copper (enough for 2,275 gigantic 12-MW offshore wind turbines), companies would have to blast and extract nearly 60,000,000 tons of ore and overlying rock, and then use heat and chemicals to process almost 23,000,000 tons of ore. —Craig Rucker, Orange County Register, 19 Feb. 2024

Nearly a century after the mine opened, the ore reserves were declared depleted and Phelps Dodge, the major mining company in Bisbee, officially shut down all underground operations in 1975. —Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 16 Feb. 2024

Fortunes drawn from iron ore, an export mainstay, remain unshakeable at the top. —Naazneen Karmali, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024

The vessels are used to transport commodities like iron ore and soybeans. —Michael Forsythe, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024

The deposits under Kiruna are Europe’s richest source of iron ore, 80% of which is produced by LKAB. —Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Jan. 2024

The Jokowi administration banned nickel ore exports in January 2020 in a bid to establish more domestic smelters. —Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 15 Dec. 2023

Still, the report found that even the small amount of e-waste that currently gets recycled avoided the mining of 2 trillion pounds of ore for virgin metal in 2022. —Matt Simon, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English or, oor, partly from Old English ōra ore; partly from Old English ār brass; akin to Old High German ēr bronze, Latin aes copper, bronze

Noun (2)

Swedish öre & Danish & Norwegian øre

Noun (3)

Danish & Norwegian, from Latin aureus a gold coin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1884, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing ore

• ore dressing

Kids Definition

ore

1 of 2 noun

ˈō(ə)r 

ˈȯ(ə)r

: a mineral mined to obtain a substance that it contains

iron ore

ore

2 of 2 noun

ˈər-ə

plural ore

: a unit of value equal to ¹⁄₁₀₀ krona or ¹⁄₁₀₀ krone

Etymology

Noun

Swedish öre and Danish and Norwegian øre