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contact mine

American  

noun

  1. a naval mine designed to explode on contact with the hull of a ship.

Etymology

Origin of contact mine

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

BBC Wales has tried to contact mine management but nobody was available for comment.

From BBC • Aug. 20, 2013

The device was believed to be a moored contact mine from either World War I or World War II and could have been exposed by Hurricane Sandy last year, base officials said.

From Washington Post • Jun. 27, 2013

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.