: my
—used before a word beginning with a vowel or h
… this treasure in mine arms …—William Shakespeare
or sometimes as a modifier of a preceding noun —archaic except in an elevated style
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.
He is a friend of mine.
plural mines
1
a
: a pit or excavation in the earth's surface from which minerals (see mineral entry 1 sense 4a) are taken
a coal/copper/gold mine
deep-sea/seabed mines
Mining engineers … design open pit and underground mines, supervise the construction of mine shafts and tunnels in underground operations, and devise methods for transporting minerals to processing plants.—Occupational Outlook Handbook
see also canary in the coal mine, strip mine
b
law
: a site that is or may be suitable for a mine
the state's department of mines and minerals
2
: a rich source of plentiful supply
—used with of
a mine of information
She is acutely sensitive, a mine [=treasure trove] of emotions …—Louise Erdrich
see also gold mine
3
a
: an encased explosive that is placed in the ground or in water and set to explode when disturbed
an antipersonnel mine
anti-tank mines
see also claymore mine, land mine
b
archaic
: a subterranean passage under an enemy position
4
: a facility equipped with computer systems and related equipment used to process and verify cryptocurrency transactions
a Bitcoin/crypto mine
the conversion of a cryptocurrency mine to a data center
also
: equipment (such as computers, hardware, and software) used to mine cryptocurrency
setting up a home crypto mine using a PC
mined; mining; mines
1
a
transitive + intransitive
: to extract a valuable substance from the earth's surface (as by digging, blasting, or pumping) : to get ore, metals, coal, precious stones, etc. out of the earth : to work in or dig a mine
efforts to mine diamonds/sand/copper
mining for coal
Borax was first mined in the Mojave Desert in the late 1880s, when wagon teams of 18 mules and two horses pulled huge loads of it out of Death Valley.—Allison Futterman
If those items were recycled instead, manufacturers could recover literal gold and other precious materials. That cuts down e-waste and potentially even the need to mine for as much raw material.—Justine Calma
b
transitive
: to dig into (something) for ore, metal, or another valuable substance
a location people have mined for centuries
mining the seabed
A combination of climate action targets and European nature conservation laws has resulted in recent efforts to restore peatlands. … However, most of the focus to date has been on raised bogs, the vast majority of which have been mined for peat moss, for electricity generation and for turf.—Anja Murray
c
transitive
: to process (something) in order to obtain a natural component of it
mining seawater for minerals
2
transitive
: to create and obtain units of (a cryptocurrency) through a cryptographic process
specifically
: to solve a complex mathematical puzzle that functions to verify a set of cryptocurrency transactions, enter that set into its blockchain, and release new units of that cryptocurrency into circulation
Creating, or mining, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is a … process in which vast computer networks compete online for newly created crypto tokens. —Ephrat Livni
In the early days, enthusiasts could mine bitcoin through their home computers. … Nowadays, mining bitcoin has become a highly competitive field with multi-billion-dollar companies using specialized computers in entire data centers to acquire new bitcoins. —Boston Herald
3
a
: to extract (something) from a source
details mined from the files
Now … scientists have access to electronic records that report the locations and day of year when specimens of thousands of species were collected. … These data, along with new analytical tools, have enabled researchers to mine information from millions of plant specimens …—Harrison Tasoff
b
: to seek valuable material in (something)
mining old documents for details about the property
While writing the album, the quartet mined memories of grief and trauma, searching for catharsis.—Madison Bloom
… decades of old interviews have been mined.—Helen Dudar
… the diary has been extensively mined by biographers …—T. J. Binyon
4
a
dated, history
: to dig under (a building, wall, etc.) to gain access to or cause the collapse of an enemy position
b
: to place military mines (see mine entry 3 sense 3a) in, on, or under (something)
mine a harbor
c
dated, history
: to excavate the earth beneath (something)
a city mined [=undermined] with underground cellars and passages
d
biology
: to burrow beneath the surface of (plant tissue)
larvae that mine leaves
Cite this Entry
“Mine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mine. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
