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  • ore
    ore
    noun
    a metal-bearing mineral or rock, or a native metal, that can be mined at a profit.
  • öre
    öre
    noun
    a bronze coin of Norway, one 100th of a krone.
  • Ore.
    Ore.
    abbreviation
    Oregon.
Synonyms

ore

1 American  
[awr, ohr] / ɔr, oʊr /

noun

  1. a metal-bearing mineral or rock, or a native metal, that can be mined at a profit.

  2. a mineral or natural product serving as a source of some nonmetallic substance, as sulfur.


öre 2 American  
[œ-ruh] / ˈœ rə /
Also øre

noun

plural

öre
  1. a bronze coin of Norway, one 100th of a krone.

  2. a zinc or bronze coin of Denmark, one 100th of a krone.

  3. a bronze coin of Sweden, one 100th of a krona.

  4. a fractional currency of the Faeroe Islands, one 100th of a krona.


Ore. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. Oregon.


öre 1 British  
/ ˈørə /

noun

  1. a Scandinavian monetary unit worth one hundredth of a Swedish krona and ( øre ) one hundredth of a Danish and Norwegian krone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ore 2 British  
/ ɔː /

noun

  1. any naturally occurring mineral or aggregate of minerals from which economically important constituents, esp metals, can be extracted

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ore Scientific  
/ ôr /
  1. A naturally occurring mineral or rock from which a valuable or useful substance, especially a metal, can be extracted at a reasonable cost.


ore Cultural  
  1. In geology, a mineral that contains a commercially useful material, such as gold or uranium.


Discover More

Ore deposits are generally mined, and the ore is processed to recover the material.

Etymology

Origin of ore1

before 900; conflation of Middle English ore, Old English ōra ore, unreduced metal; and Middle English or(e) ore, metal, Old English ār brass, cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German ēr, Old Norse eir, Gothic aiz; compare Latin aes bronze, coin, money

Origin of öre2

First recorded in 1600–10; ultimately from Latin aureus “a gold coin of ancient Rome”; see aureus ( def. )

Explanation

Ore is a rock that contains minerals like iron, gold, or lead. The seven dwarfs in the movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" worked mining ore. Another meaning of ore is a Swedish unit of money. The krona is made up of 100 ore. In this use, ore is usually spelled with an umlaut over the oöre. In English, ore is most commonly used to mean a material from which valuable metals or gems can be extracted. In Old English, ora means unwrought metal and ar means bronze. Both root words are thought to have influenced this sense of ore.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing ore

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.

Managing civil disturbances has been an issue for Homeland Security since at least 2021, according to an audit conducted by the agency’s internal watchdog review of a 2020 deployment to Portland, Ore.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

The company can produce some 10,000 robots per year at its manufacturing facility in Salem, Ore.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

He notes that Escondida and Western Australia Iron Ore continue to perform well, and that Copper South Australia continues to show signs of stability.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

It is also accused of transferring its Italian assets into foreign ownership solely for tax purposes, according to Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025

The Ore, rising not far from Roscobie Hills to the north of Dunfermline, follows a mainly north-easterly course for 15 m. till it joins the Leven at Windygates.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 3 "Fenton, Edward" to "Finistere" by Various