stope

American  

[stohp] / stoʊp /

noun

1. any excavation made in a mine, especially from a steeply inclined vein, to remove the ore that has been rendered accessible by the shafts and drifts.

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verb (used with or without object)

stoped, stoping

1. to mine or work by stopes.

stope British  

/ stəʊp /

noun

1. a steplike excavation made in a mine to extract ore

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verb

1. to mine (ore, etc) by cutting stopes

Etymology

Origin of stope

1740–50; apparently < Low German stope; stoop ²

Example Sentences

We need to stope mistaking success for heroism.

From New York Times

“It’s really weird ... coming back to school and not being able to see those people, student Michael Stope, 17, said of the victims. But beginning the healing process is necessary, said Strope. Gesturing toward a fence lined with bouquets, balloons, stuffed animals and messages of support, he said, “I don’t think we could have done it any better than this.”

From Seattle Times

There are companies with accounts so perfected that it is possible to quickly ascertain, to a fraction of a cent, what the expenditures of any day have been for any particular part of the operations, as for instance, the haulage per ton underground, or the fuse employed in the blasting of a particular stope.

From Project Gutenberg

Stope, stōp, v.t. to excavate, to remove the contents of a vein.—n. an excavation for this purpose.—n.

From Project Gutenberg

Stool = Face of a drift or stope.

From Project Gutenberg