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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

  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.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

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.

Now the price of the former is four öre, about one cent, and of the latter a half cent.

From Norwegian Life by Clough, Ethlyn T.

"I will give you two öre for your thoughts, if they are worth it," her father said at last.

From Gerda in Sweden by McDonald, Etta Austin Blaisdell

A good filet de bœuf costs about 90 öre.

From The Gourmet's Guide to Europe by Newnham-Davis, Lieut.-Col. (Nathaniel)

The öre coin has no distinct head or tail, so the Skipper named one side heads, and tossed.

From Three in Norway by Two of Them by Clutterbuck, Walter J.

"It costs five öre to go up in the lift, and three öre to come down," she replied.

From Gerda in Sweden by McDonald, Etta Austin Blaisdell

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