mining

noun

min·​ing ˈmī-niŋ 

1

: the process or business of working mines

2

: the activity or process of searching through large amounts of information for specific data or patterns

image/video mining

Examples of mining in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Department of Energy is launching a $100 million grant program aimed at expanding the mining and critical mineral workforce by dramatically increasing the number of people with degrees in those areas over the next two years. — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026

After a Soviet ballistic missile submarine sank in the Pacific Ocean in 1968, the CIA secretly built the Hughes Glomar Explorer, disguised as a deep-sea mining vessel, to recover the wreck from nearly 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) below the surface. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026

The Justice Department alleged Amadea was owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian mining tycoon who had been under sanctions since 2018. — Robert Frank, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026

But the mining industry sued, agreeing with the tougher exposure limit but not the enforcement mechanism. — Howard Berkes, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mining

• data mining

Rhymes for mining

• dining
• fining
• lining
• pining
• shining
• signing
• twining
• vining
• whining
• aligning
• assigning
• calcining

Kids Definition

mining

noun

min·​ing

ˈmī-niŋ

: the process or business of working mines