Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • pronoun Used to indicate the one or ones belonging to me.
  • adjective Used instead of my before an initial vowel or the letter h.
  • noun A hole or tunnel dug into the earth from which ore or minerals are extracted.
  • noun A surface excavation where the topmost or exposed layer of earth is removed for extracting its ore or minerals.
  • noun The site of such a hole, tunnel, or excavation, including its surface buildings and equipment.
  • noun A deposit of ore or minerals in the earth or on its surface.
  • noun An abundant supply or source of something valuable.
  • noun A tunnel dug under an enemy emplacement to destroy it by explosives, cause it to collapse, or gain access to it for an attack.
  • noun An explosive device used to destroy enemy personnel, shipping, fortifications, or equipment, often placed in a concealed position and designed to be detonated by contact, proximity, or a time fuse.
  • noun A burrow or tunnel made by an insect, especially one made in a leaf by a leaf miner.
  • intransitive verb To extract (ore or minerals) from the earth.
  • intransitive verb To dig a mine in (the earth) to obtain ore or minerals.
  • intransitive verb To tunnel under (the earth or a surface feature).
  • intransitive verb To make (a tunnel) by digging.
  • intransitive verb To lay explosive mines in or under.
  • intransitive verb To attack, damage, or destroy by underhand means; subvert.
  • intransitive verb To delve into and make use of; exploit.
  • intransitive verb To excavate the earth for the purpose of extracting ore or minerals.
  • intransitive verb To work in a mine.
  • intransitive verb To dig a tunnel under the earth, especially under an enemy emplacement or fortification.
  • intransitive verb To lay explosive mines.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of me; me; the original genitive (objective) of I. It was formerly used with some verbs where later usage requires me.
  • Of me; belonging to me.
  • Belonging to me: merely possessive, and construed as an adjective, preceding its noun, which may, however, be omitted.
  • Like the other possessives in the independent form, mine preceded by of constitutes a double genitive of the possessor in the first person and any word understood denoting appurtenance or possession: as, a horse of mine (belonging to me); it is no fault of mine.
  • By ellipsis, the possessive mine is used (like other possessives)— To avoid repetition of the name of the thing possessed: as, your hand is stronger than mine (my hand).
  • To express generally ‘that which belongs to me,’ ‘my possession, property, or appurtenance.’
  • Same as mind.
  • To dig a mine or pit in the earth, in order to obtain minerals or to make a blast for explosion, as in a military mine; work in a mine.
  • To burrow; form a lodgment by burrowing: as, the sand-martin mines to make a nest.
  • Figuratively, to work in secret; work by secret or insidious means.
  • To make by digging or burrowing.
  • To dig away or otherwise remove the foundation from; undermine; sap: as, to mine the walls of a fort.
  • To dig mines under, for the reception of explosives, as in mining or engineering works, and in military and naval operations.
  • Figuratively, to ruin or destroy by slow or secret methods.
  • noun Specifically, in Scotch mining: The underground works of a colliery or metalliferous working.
  • noun A drift or roadway from the surface, either level or on the slope of the seam.
  • noun A mine passage in rock: usually qualified, as stone-mine, cross-cut mine, etc.
  • noun An excavation in the earth made for the purpose of getting metals, ores, or coal.
  • noun Milit.: A subterraneous gallery or passage dug under the wall or rampart of a fortification, for the lodgment of a quantity of powder or other explosive to be used in blowing up the works.
  • noun Such an excavation when charged with an explosive, or the charge of explosive used in such a mine, or sunk under water in operations of naval defense to serve a similar purpose to mines on land.
  • noun Figuratively, an abounding source or store of anything.
  • noun An excavation made by an insect, as a leaf-miner
  • noun A mineral.
  • noun Ore.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English mīn; see me- in Indo-European roots.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *mīna, probably of Celtic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English mīn.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from Old French mine, from Late Latin mina, from Gaulish *mēnā (“ore, mine”), akin to Welsh mwyn, Irish míanach ("ore").

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Examples

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  • It's a game I used to play with a friend...inside joke.

    May 4, 2007

  • Mine (English), mien (French), and mein (German) are synonyms and anagrams in three languages. (via futilitycloset.com)

    November 22, 2009