ore

¹ American  

[awr, ohr] / ɔr, oʊr /

noun

1. a metal-bearing mineral or rock, or a native metal, that can be mined at a profit.

2. a mineral or natural product serving as a source of some nonmetallic substance, as sulfur.

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öre ² American  

[œ-ruh] / ˈœ rə /

Also øre

noun

plural

öre

1. a bronze coin of Norway, one 100th of a krone.

2. a zinc or bronze coin of Denmark, one 100th of a krone.

3. a bronze coin of Sweden, one 100th of a krona.

4. a fractional currency of the Faeroe Islands, one 100th of a krona.

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Ore. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Oregon.

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öre ¹ British  

/ ˈørə /

noun

1. a Scandinavian monetary unit worth one hundredth of a Swedish krona and ( øre ) one hundredth of a Danish and Norwegian krone

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ore ² British  

/ ɔː /

noun

1. any naturally occurring mineral or aggregate of minerals from which economically important constituents, esp metals, can be extracted

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ore Scientific  

/ ôr /

1. A naturally occurring mineral or rock from which a valuable or useful substance, especially a metal, can be extracted at a reasonable cost.

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ore Cultural  

1. In geology, a mineral that contains a commercially useful material, such as gold or uranium.

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Discover More

Ore deposits are generally mined, and the ore is processed to recover the material.

Etymology

Origin of ore¹

before 900; conflation of Middle English ore, Old English ōra ore, unreduced metal; and Middle English or(e) ore, metal, Old English ār brass, cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German ēr, Old Norse eir, Gothic aiz; compare Latin aes bronze, coin, money

Origin of öre²

First recorded in 1600–10; ultimately from Latin aureus “a gold coin of ancient Rome”; see aureus ( def. )

Explanation

Ore is a rock that contains minerals like iron, gold, or lead. The seven dwarfs in the movie "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" worked mining ore. Another meaning of ore is a Swedish unit of money. The krona is made up of 100 ore. In this use, ore is usually spelled with an umlaut over the o — öre. In English, ore is most commonly used to mean a material from which valuable metals or gems can be extracted. In Old English, ora means unwrought metal and ar means bronze. Both root words are thought to have influenced this sense of ore.

Example Sentences

Extraction began nearly 60 years ago, but the insurgency meant some of India's highest-grade iron ore was left untouched.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

This was due to lower ore grades and decreased volumes of ore processed at its Saucito, Fresnillo and Juanicipio mines, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

It bought mining ore processor Less Common Metal in November 2025 External link.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

Ivanhoe does it by smelting copper-sulfide ore, and sells the acid byproduct to copper producers who do it the other way.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

“Go. Do not be late for work or I will keep you polishing bottles and grinding ore for another term.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• gold
• iron
• metal
• mineral
• platinum