stope
[ stohp ]
/ stoʊp /
Save This Word!
noun
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.
verb (used with or without object), stoped, stop·ing.
to mine or work by stopes.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of stope
1740–50; apparently <Low German stope;see stoop2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for stope
You helped pack the mud to build the butte and stoped out the guest chamber down in hell!
Shadow Mountain|Dane CoolidgeI Stoped the Canoes and brought in the flesh which was fat and fine.
The Journals of Lewis and Clark|Meriwether Lewis and William ClarkShe stoped immediately and turned around and went on down the River.
The Stronghold|Miriam Haynie
British Dictionary definitions for stope
stope
/ (stəʊp) /
noun
a steplike excavation made in a mine to extract ore
verb
to mine (ore, etc) by cutting stopes
Word Origin for stope
C18: probably from Low German stope; see stoop ²
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