miner

American  

[mahy-ner] / ˈmaɪ nər /

noun

• miners
  plural

1. Also called mineworker.  a person who works in a mine, especially a commercial mine producing coal or metallic ores.

   His ancestors were slate miners in Wales who emigrated to the United States.

2. a mechanical device used in mining.

   She made her money by developing a miner for extracting ores from the ocean floor.

3. any of several Australian birds of the genus Manorina, feeding on honey and typically having a loud call.

4. Entomology. any of various insect larvae that create tunnels in the parenchyma of leaves.

5. Digital Technology.

   1. a computer or network of computers engaged in solving sets of mathematical problems that are used to verify cryptocurrency transactions and that, when solved, yield a unit of the currency.

   2. a software application that is designed to run this process.

   3. a person or company that engages in this process.

6. (formerly) a person who places or lays explosive mines.

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miner British  

/ ˈmaɪnə /

noun

1. a person who works in a mine

2. Also called: continuous miner.  a large machine for the automatic extraction of minerals, esp coal, from a mine

3. any of various insects or insect larvae that bore into and feed on plant tissues See also leaf miner

4. any of several honey-eaters of the genus Manorina, esp M. melanocephala (noisy miner), of scrub regions See noisy miner

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• miners
  plural

Etymology

Origin of miner

First recorded in 1225–75; mine ² + -er ¹; replacing Middle English minour, from Anglo-French ( see -or ²)

Explanation

Picture a hardhat, a headlamp and a pick, and you are on the right track. A miner is a person who makes a living digging coal, salt, gold, minerals, or other natural resources out of the earth. The root here is the noun mine—not the word that possessive toddlers like to shout, but the one that describes a man-made underground network of tunnels and quarries. Don’t confuse miner with minor (note the “o”). Minor refers to musical intervals, small or trivial things, and people under age 18.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

miner miners

The analysts define their price as a multiple of marginal cost — the cost of the least efficient miner — of the last two cycles, from 2016 to 2019 and 2020 to 2023.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

The miner reported higher earnings over the first half year as average gold price rose 47% and while silver prices were 130% higher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The South African gold miner said Tuesday that headline earnings for the half year ended June 30 rose 81% on the same period a year prior to $1.855 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Bitdeer, which claims to be the largest Bitcoin miner in the world, just announced a 16-year deal to provide compute for Anthropic.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

“He’s with me,” says the old miner, coming up from behind the driver.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz

Parton could have limited her tracks to farmers, coal miners, swing shifters, assembly line workers and other laborers whom country music constantly lionizes, and no one would have complained.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

He wants the government to help local miners establish safer and more effective ways of finding and extracting the gold.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Once companies had extracted all the easy-to-reach coal, miners were forced to bore deeper into the rock, which sent fine silica dust into the air.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Find insight on Antofagasta, Zambia’s copper mining industry, London’s miners and more in the latest Market Talks covering basic materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The miners whispered about organizing a union, and Fannie encouraged them, but a judge had outlawed the United Mine Workers of America, or UMWA, in the region.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

Related Words

• prospector