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
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
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
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.
Noun
Beijing treats 70% import dependence as an implicit red line – which puts copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, bauxite and iron ore under a hard national security constraint to expand supply abroad, Wang said. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026 The 247Solar system would avoid that expense, while potentially providing process heat that could be useful for some of the ore processing. — ArsTechnica, 29 Oct. 2026 The animals that once carried ore out of the mountains now carry the town. — Harry Bruinius, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Oct. 2026 After 100,000 years, radiation levels will decay back to those of natural uranium ore. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ore

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

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ore. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Kids Definition

ore

1 of 2 noun
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on ore

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster