mine

1 of 2

verb

mined; mining

transitive verb

1

a

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

b

: undermine sense 4

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

Creating, or mining, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is a … process in which vast computer networks compete online for newly created crypto tokens.

—Ephrat Livni

intransitive verb

: to dig a mine

miner noun

miner

2 of 2

noun

min·​er

ˈmīnə(r)

plural -s

1

: one that mines: such as

a

: one that constructs or lays military mines

especially : a soldier having such duties

b

: one engaged in the business or occupation of getting ore, coal, precious substances, or other natural substances out of the earth

c

: a machine for automatic mining (as of coal)

d

: a worker on the construction of underground tunnels and shafts (as for roads, railways, waterways)

2

a

: any of numerous insects that in the larval state excavate galleries in the parenchyma of leaves

b

: any of several honey eaters of Australia and Tasmania (as Myzantha melanocephala)

Synonyms of mine

Verb

• attack
• booby-trap
• ambush
• bomb

Examples of mine in a Sentence

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

Verb

Tehran retaliated by attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and mining the sea lane. —Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 9 June 2026

Extracting gallium from aluminum waste Gallium is not typically mined directly. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 6 June 2026

Twenty years later, Paramount sees value to be mined. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026

Under international law, the Strait of Hormuz is open to navigation, but Iran has mined the strait and allowed only certain vessels to pass through it, attacking others. —David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English miner, minere, alteration (influenced by -er, -ere -er) of minour, from Old French mineor, from miner to mine + -eor -or

First Known Use

Verb

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

Phrases Containing mine

• anti-mine
• claymore mine
• gold mine
• land mine
• of mine
• run-of-mine
• run-of-the-mine
• someone's guess is as good as mine
• strip mine

Rhymes for mine

• brine
• chine
• cline
• dine
• fein
• fine
• gwine
• hine
• jain
• klein
• kline
• line

Kids Definition

mine

1 of 4 adjective

(ˈ)mīn 

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)