mine
1 Americanpronoun
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a form of the possessive case of I used as a predicate adjective.
The yellow sweater is mine.
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something that belongs to me.
Mine is the red car.
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Archaic. my (used before a word beginning with a vowel or a silent h, or following a noun).
mine eyes; lady mine.
noun
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an excavation made in the earth for the purpose of extracting ores, coal, precious stones, etc.
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a place where valuable minerals may be obtained, either by excavation or by washing the soil.
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a natural deposit of valuable minerals.
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an abundant source; store.
The notes at the end of her book are a mine of information on the period she's writing about.
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a device containing a charge of explosive in a watertight casing, floating on or moored beneath the surface of the water for the purpose of blowing up an enemy ship that strikes it or passes close by it.
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a device containing a charge of explosive, typically buried under a shallow layer of dirt for the purpose of blowing up enemy personnel or vehicles that strike it or pass close by it; landmine.
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a subterranean passage made to extend under an enemy's works or position, as for the purpose of securing access or of depositing explosives for blowing up a military position.
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Entomology. a passageway in the parenchyma of a leaf, made by certain insects.
verb (used without object)
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to dig in the earth for the purpose of extracting ores, coal, etc.; make a mine.
Many people would mine for gold and silver in the area during the Gold Rush.
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to extract coal, ore, or the like, from a mine.
My grandfather mined to make his living, and it was hard on his body.
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to make subterranean passages.
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to place or lay mines, as in naval or other military operations.
verb (used with object)
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to dig in (earth, rock, etc.) in order to obtain ores, coal, etc..
They mined the Blue Ridge Mountains for quartzite, copper, iron, and manganese.
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to extract (ore, coal, etc.) from a mine.
Workers mined this tin in Thailand, likely in the late 19th century.
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to avail oneself of or draw useful or valuable material from.
I'll have to mine every resource available to finish my term paper on time.
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to use, especially a natural resource.
The proposal to mine the nation's oldest forests was met with disapproval.
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to make subterranean passages in or under; burrow.
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to make (passages, tunnels, etc.) by digging or burrowing.
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to dig away or remove the foundations of.
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to place or lay explosive mines in or under.
The squad was sent to mine an enemy supply road.
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Digital Technology. (of a computer, computer network, software application, etc.) to solve sets of mathematical problems that are used to verify cryptocurrency transactions and that, when solved, yield a unit of that currency in exchange, especially bitcoin.
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Agriculture. to grow crops in (soil) over an extended time without fertilizing.
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to remove (a natural resource) from its source without attempting to replenish it.
pronoun
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something or someone belonging to or associated with me
mine is best
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belonging to or associated with me
determiner
noun
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a system of excavations made for the extraction of minerals, esp coal, ores, or precious stones
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any deposit of ore or minerals
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a lucrative source or abundant supply
she was a mine of information
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a device containing an explosive designed to destroy ships, vehicles, or personnel, usually laid beneath the ground or in water
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a tunnel or sap dug to undermine a fortification
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a groove or tunnel made by certain insects, esp in a leaf
verb
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to dig into (the earth) for (minerals)
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to make (a hole, tunnel, etc) by digging or boring
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to place explosive mines in position below the surface of (the sea or land)
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to undermine (a fortification) by digging mines or saps
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another word for undermine
Other Word Forms
- minable adjective
- unmined adjective
Etymology
Origin of mine1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mīn; cognate with Old Norse mīn, German mein, Gothic meina; my, me
Origin of mine1
First recorded in 1275–1325; 1875–80 mine 2 for def. 5; (for the verb) Middle English minen, from Old French miner (cognate with Provençal, Spanish minar, Italian minare ), from Vulgar Latin mīnāre (unrecorded), probably from a Celtic base akin to Middle Irish méin, Welsh mwyn “ore, mineral”; (for the noun) Middle English from Middle French, perhaps noun derivative of miner “to mine” (compare Medieval Latin mina “mine, mineral”)
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.
"That would be a pretty cool record of mine to have. So that's definitely the goal."
From Barron's
Literary fiction is a particular interest of mine so I publish almost entirely literary fiction, but not exclusively.
From Los Angeles Times
The series begins with lines from the novel: “There are at least two sides to every story. Yours and mine. Ours and theirs. His and hers. Which means someone is always lying.”
From Los Angeles Times
As I slid “The Last Chairlift” onto the shelf with the others, I remembered that many years ago a dear friend of mine had studied with John Irving at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
From Los Angeles Times
A run-up in gold, silver and copper prices stalled, weighing on global mining shares.
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.
