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.

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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.

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Ore. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Oregon.

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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

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ore ² British  

/ ɔː /

noun

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

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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.

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ore Cultural  

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

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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”; aureus ( def. )

Example Sentences

Craig has played a central role in broadening BHP’s growth beyond iron ore, particularly in copper and potash, Seeney says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

The HyIron plant, in the west of the country, turns ore into pure iron for steel making, something normally done with fossil fuels.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

Because of this, most lightweight vehicle parts are still made from primary aluminum produced from mined ore.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal falls 6.45%, while copper and iron ore miner Anglo American drops 6.3%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

And the word racist, to them, conjures, if not a tobacco-spitting oaf, then something just as fantastic—an ore, troll, or gorgon.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Related Words

• gold
• iron
• metal
• mineral
• platinum