mine

¹mine

adjective \ˈmīn\

Definition of MINE

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

Origin of MINE

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

First Known Use: before 12th century

Rhymes with MINE

bine, brine, chine, cline, dine, dyne, fine, Jain, line, Main, nine, pine, Quine, Rhine, rind, shine, shrine, sign, spine, spline, stein, swine, syne, thine, tine, trine, twine, vine, whine, wine

²mine

pronoun, singular or plural in construction

Definition of MINE

: that which belongs to me —used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective my

First Known Use of MINE

before 12th century

³mine

noun

Definition of MINE

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

Examples of MINE

1. <a baseball fanatic who is a mine of fascinating trivia about the game>
2. <the soldiers were careful to disarm any mines they found in their path>

Origin of MINE

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

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to MINE

Synonyms

argosy, cornucopia, gold mine, mother lode, treasure trove, wellspring

Related Words

armory, repository, stockpot, store, storehouse, treasure-house; cache, hoard, stash; bonanza, Golconda, gravy train, honeypot

Near Antonyms

black hole, sinkhole

Other Mining and Drilling Terms

ore, trepan, wildcat

⁴mine

verb

minedmin·ing

Definition of MINE

transitive verb

1

a : to dig under to gain access or cause the collapse of (an enemy position)

b : undermine

2

a : to get (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

intransitive verb

: to dig a mine

— min·er noun

Examples of MINE

1. The area was soon filled with prospectors who were mining for gold.
2. Prospectors mined the region for diamonds.
3. Local people were hired to mine the gold.
4. The enemy had mined the harbor.

First Known Use of MINE

14th century

Related to MINE

Synonyms

booby-trap

Related Words

blow up, bomb; ambush, snare, trap; attack