# mine

Pronunciation: say "MYN" /maɪ̯n/

## Pronoun

1. The one or ones belonging to me; also used after of ("a friend of mine").
   - Simple: Something that belongs to me.
   - _Those muddy boots on the porch are mine, not Dad's._
   - _She forgot her umbrella, so I lent her mine for the walk home._
8. My house or home. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: My own house or the place where I live.
   - _Everyone gathered at mine for the holidays._
   - _Let's grab a coffee and then head back to mine._

## Verb

2. To dig into the earth to find and take out coal, ore, or other minerals.
   - Simple: To dig in the ground to get coal, metal, or stones.
   - _Workers mine coal from seams far below the valley floor._
   - _The firm mines lithium for use in electric-car batteries._
5. To draw extensively on a source for what it can yield; to tap into.
   - Simple: To dig useful things out of a large source, such as data or ideas.
   - _Historians mine old letters for clues about everyday life._
   - _The startup mines customer feedback to improve its app._
6. To earn new units of a cryptocurrency by performing the required computational calculations.
   - Simple: To get new digital coins by using computers to solve hard math problems.
   - _Enthusiasts mine various coins using racks of specialized hardware._
   - _She mines a lesser-known cryptocurrency on a rig with several graphics cards._
9. To lay explosive mines in an area, or to damage or destroy something with a mine.
   - Simple: To put hidden bombs in the ground or water, or to hit something with one.
   - _Retreating forces mined the bridges and the roads leading north._
   - _Commanders chose to mine the entire valley before dawn._
11. To burrow into the ground, making a tunnel or hole.
   - Simple: To dig a tunnel or hole down into the ground.
14. To dig away the ground or foundation beneath something in order to weaken or collapse it.
   - Simple: To dig under something to weaken its base so it falls.
   - _Rather than storm the gate, the besiegers chose to mine the walls, tunneling beneath them and carting away earth until the stones began to sag._
   - _Over several weeks the sappers mined the corner tower, hollowing out the ground beneath it and holding it up with wooden props until they set the props on fire._
15. To ruin or destroy something gradually, by slow degrees or through secret means.
   - Simple: To slowly damage or destroy something in a quiet, hidden way.
16. To pick one's nose. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To pick your nose with a finger.

## Noun

3. An excavation, often a system of underground tunnels, from which ore or solid minerals are extracted.
   - Simple: A hole or set of tunnels dug in the ground to take out coal, metal, or other minerals.
   - _The copper mine employed most of the town's residents._
   - _Rescue teams reached the trapped workers deep inside the mine._
4. A device designed to explode when stepped on, touched, or approached by a ship, vehicle, or person.
   - Simple: A hidden bomb that blows up when someone steps on it or comes too close.
   - _Engineers carefully cleared each mine from the road before the convoy passed._
   - _A floating mine struck the ship's hull near the bow._
7. A plentiful source of wealth, resources, or valuable things.
   - Simple: A rich supply of something valuable, such as knowledge or money.
   - _The interview proved a mine of insight into the company's early years._
   - _For collectors, the old attic was a mine of forgotten treasures._
10. A computer, or an array of computers, set up to perform the calculations that generate new units of a cryptocurrency and confirm transactions.
   - Simple: A computer, or group of computers, built to earn new digital coins.
   - _The company turned an empty factory into a bitcoin mine, filling it with rows of humming computers._
   - _Neighbors complained about the nonstop roar of cooling fans coming from the crypto mine down the road._
12. A tunnel dug toward or beneath enemy lines and then packed with explosives.
   - Simple: A tunnel dug under or toward an enemy's position and filled with explosives.
   - _For months, soldiers secretly dug a mine beneath the enemy trenches and packed it with explosives._
   - _The defenders dug counter-tunnels to intercept the enemy's mines._

## Determiner

13. Archaic: my, used before a vowel sound or after the noun. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An old word for 'my'.
   - _Mine eyes grow heavy as the candle burns low._
   - _'Thou art mine enemy,' the actor thundered, drawing his wooden sword._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The tunnel or hollow patch an insect larva makes as it feeds inside a leaf, between its outer layers.
- (noun) A firework that explodes at ground level, shooting a burst of sparks or stars upward.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 8, 13** — From Middle English min, from Old English mīn, going back through Proto-Germanic *mīnaz to Proto-Indo-European *méynos. It is related to Dutch mijn, German mein, and Danish, Swedish and Norwegian min.
**Meanings 2–7, 9–12, 14–16** — The word goes back to Proto-Celtic *meinis ("ore, metal"), which gave a Gaulish word (compare Welsh mwyn and Irish mianach, "ore"). Late Latin took this as mina, Old French had mine, and from there it passed into Middle English.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mine (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).