mining
Americannoun
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the act, process, or industry of extracting ores, coal, etc., from mines.
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the laying of explosive mines.
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Digital Technology. the act or process by which cryptocurrency transactions, especially bitcoin, are verified and new cryptocurrency is generated: computer networks are used to solve sets of mathematical problems, that, when solved, yield a unit of that currency.
noun
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the act, process, or industry of extracting coal, ores, etc, from the earth
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military the process of laying mines
Etymology
Origin of mining
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: “undermining (walls in an attack)”; mine 2 + -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The government noted "all mining and commercial activity" had been banned in Rubaya as of February 2025, but between 112 and 125 tonnes are extracted each month and sent "exclusively to Rwanda".
From Barron's
The retired former generals guide the geologists and finance executives who run mining companies through the less-familiar terrain of Washington.
Women and children were among those mining coltan - a mineral used to manufacture electronics such as smartphones and computers - at the time.
From BBC
The moves hammered mining stocks, helping to weigh down the S&P 500 by 0.4%.
The early look for December showed increases in manufacturing and wholesale trade, which were partially countered by declines in mining and oil and gas extraction.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.