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.’
- 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.
- 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.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word mine.
Examples
-
\ "Sure the trifecta of Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers, and Karen O. is a dream of mine, \" said a hipster who later admitted that by \ "mine\" he meant \ "everyone he interacts with\".
The Hollywood Ham: Hipsters Ironically Boycott Where The Wild Things Are 2009
-
Ah, what bliss to have you mine, _mine_, and be yours.
The False Chevalier or, The Lifeguard of Marie Antoinette William Douw Lighthall
-
Oh, you're mine -- _mine_, little private secretary.
The Fifth Wheel A Novel Olive Higgins Prouty 1928
-
God gave me a vision -- it may not come again for a century, it can never come again -- it is mine -- _mine only_!
The Journal of Arthur Stirling : the Valley of the Shadow Upton Sinclair 1923
-
Before a noun beginning with a vowel thine and mine are commonly substituted for thy and my, as in thine eyes and mine infirmity.
Chapter 9. The Common Speech. 4. The Pronoun Henry Louis 1921
-
"Mine -- mine -- _mine_ and not _theirs_; not _theirs_, but _mine_."
Laurus Nobilis Chapters on Art and Life Vernon Lee 1895
-
And then I thought in ecstasy, "She is mine -- _mine_!"
The Golden Face A Great 'Crook' Romance William Le Queux 1895
-
"To mine -- to _mine_, you rascal, you vagabond!" stormed the King.
The Art of the Story-Teller Marie L. Shedlock 1894
-
The only joy I have in his being mine, is that the _not mine_ is _mine_.
Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson 1842
-
Telegraph, and that he had been requested to see mine and report upon it; that he should report that '_mine was the best that had been submitted to him_'; and he added that I had better forthwith get an introduction to the Minister of the Interior, Mons. the Count Montalivet.
Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals In Two Volumes, Volume II 1831
ramses commented on the word mine
It's a game I used to play with a friend...inside joke.
May 4, 2007
oroboros commented on the word mine
Mine (English), mien (French), and mein (German) are synonyms and anagrams in three languages. (via futilitycloset.com)
November 22, 2009