miner

[ mahy-ner ]

noun

1. Also called mineworker. a person who works in a mine, especially a commercial mine producing coal or metallic ores:

   His ancestors were slate miners in Wales who emigrated to the United States.

2. a mechanical device used in mining:

   She made her money by developing a miner for extracting ores from the ocean floor.

3. any of several Australian birds of the genus Manorina, feeding on honey and typically having a loud call.
4. Entomology. any of various insect larvae that create tunnels in the parenchyma of leaves.
5. Digital Technology.
   1. a computer or network of computers engaged in solving sets of mathematical problems that are used to verify cryptocurrency transactions and that, when solved, yield a unit of the currency.
   2. a software application that is designed to run this process.
   3. a person or company that engages in this process.
6. (formerly) a person who places or lays explosive mines.

miner

/ ˈmaɪnə /

noun

1. a person who works in a mine
2. Also calledcontinuous miner a large machine for the automatic extraction of minerals, esp coal, from a mine
3. any of various insects or insect larvae that bore into and feed on plant tissues See also leaf miner
4. any of several honey-eaters of the genus Manorina, esp M. melanocephala (noisy miner), of scrub regions See noisy miner

Word History and Origins

Origin of miner¹

First recorded in 1225–75; mine ² + -er ¹; replacing Middle English minour, from Anglo-French ( -or ² )

Example Sentences

An illegal miner for about eight years, Ndumiso has managed to send his three children to fee-paying schools - one of whom is now in university.

From BBC

The Fremen, whose home planet is Arrakis, where Spice is mined, bedevil the miners and the troops that protect them and, as the indigenous population battling imperial usurpers, are the faction you should root for.

From Los Angeles Times

Police welcomed the order but said it would not stop them arresting miners who left the mine.

From BBC

To survive, the miners and undocumented migrants go beneath the surface to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell it on the black market.

From BBC

But too many miners arrived and put huge strain on the electricity grid, putting the country at risk of blackouts.

From BBC

Related Words

• prospector