pron

mine

myn

pron

Belonging to me; the possessive form of "I" used on its own, without a following noun.

"That jacket is mine."

"Is this pen yours or mine?"

det

My — an older or more formal possessive form used before a vowel sound or in set phrases.

"Mine eyes have seen the glory."

noun

An underground excavation dug to extract ore, coal, or other minerals.

"His grandfather spent thirty years working in a coal mine."

"The old silver mine has been closed for decades."

An explosive device buried in the ground or hidden in water, designed to detonate when disturbed.

"The soldiers had to clear the field of landmines before advancing."

A computer or network of computers used to generate new units of a cryptocurrency.

"He built a small mine in his garage to earn extra Bitcoin."

verb

To dig ore, coal, or other minerals out of the ground.

"The company mines copper in several South American countries."

"They mined this valley for gold in the 1800s."

To lay explosive mines in an area, or to damage something with one.

"The harbor entrance was mined to stop enemy ships."

To earn units of cryptocurrency by running computations that validate transactions.

"She mines Ethereum on a rig she built herself."

How to Use Mine

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither "belonging to me" or, as a completely separate word, a hole dug in the ground for minerals (or the explosive device / cryptocurrency-earning sense that grew from it).

Common mistake

Don't confuse the possessive "mine" (that book is mine) with the noun/verb "mine" (a coal mine; to mine bitcoin) — they're unrelated words that just happen to be spelled the same.

Word Forms

mined past tense, mine plural, mines plural, mines singular

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That jacket is _____.

Etymology

The possessive "mine" traces back through Old English mīn to a very old Germanic root for "my"; the noun/verb "mine" (as in digging) comes from a separate Old French word for an excavation or tunnel.

Rhymes for mine

nine wine line sine dine fine vine pine tine Eine thine shine

See all rhymes for mine →