mines
mines — pronoun
1. the thing or things that belong to you, the speaker — used on its own so you do
the thing or things that belong to you, the speaker — used on its own so you do not have to say the noun again
That blue jacket is mine — Yara left hers at home.
pattern: [noun] + is + mine — stands alone, no repeated noun
Lotte pointed at the larger slice and said it was mine.
The idea was mine, but Henry helped turn it into a working plan.
This seat is mine; I put my bag here an hour ago.
Dahlia borrowed my pen and then forgot which one was mine.
文法句型
[noun] + is + mine
a [noun] of mine
mine replaces the repeated noun
用法筆記
The standard written form of this pronoun is 'mine' (without -s). The spelling 'mines' appears in some regional dialects but is not used in formal English.
常見錯誤
mines — noun
- minessingular
- minesesplural
1. a deep hole or a network of tunnels dug into the ground from which people take o
a deep hole or a network of tunnels dug into the ground from which people take out coal, gold, salt, diamonds, or other valuable materials
The coal mines in Xiu's hometown closed down thirty years ago.
collocation: coal mines
Chidi walked past the old salt mines every morning on his way to work.
Children in the village were warned never to play near the abandoned mines.
Ritu's grandfather spent forty years working in the copper mines.
Deep underground, the gold mines stretched for several kilometres in every direction.
- quarry
an open-air pit where stone, sand, or gravel is cut from the surface — unlike a mine, a quarry does not go underground
- pit
a broader, more everyday word for any large hole in the ground; a gravel pit is shallow, while a mine goes deep underground
- excavation
a formal term for the act of digging rather than the place itself; used in archaeology and engineering contexts
文法句型
a coal/gold/salt mine
work in a mine
mines + plural verb
常見錯誤
2. a bomb hidden beneath the ground or below the surface of the sea that goes off w
a bomb hidden beneath the ground or below the surface of the sea that goes off when a person, vehicle, or ship passes over it or touches it
The soldiers marked a safe path through the field of buried mines.
collocation: field of buried mines
Hoa's grandfather lost his leg to a land mine during the war.
collocation: land mine
Naval crews worked for months to clear the sea mines from the harbour.
A single mine can destroy a truck and kill everyone inside it.
The children were taught to recognise warning signs near old mine fields.
- landmine
specifically a mine placed on or under the ground; more precise than 'mine' when you need to exclude sea mines
- explosive
a much broader term covering any device or substance that can blow up — a mine is one specific type of explosive
- bomb
a general word for an explosive weapon; a mine is a bomb designed to be hidden and triggered by contact or proximity
文法句型
a land/sea mine
lay/clear mines
a mine explodes
用法筆記
Object refers to the explosive device itself. Distinct from noun sense 1 (EXCAVATION SITE) — context tells you which is meant: 'work in a mine' is sense 1, 'step on a mine' is sense 2.
mines — verb
- minespresent simple I / you / we / they
- mineses3rd person singular
- minesing-ing form
- minesedpast simple
1. to dig into the ground to take out coal, gold, diamonds, or other natural resour
to dig into the ground to take out coal, gold, diamonds, or other natural resources
Leo's company mines copper from a huge pit in the Atacama Desert.
transitive: mines + [substance]
Local families have mined salt from this lake bed for centuries.
The workers mine the coal by hand, using only basic tools.
Madison learned that people still mine for gold in the nearby hills.
The region mines more iron than any other part of the country.
文法句型
mine + [substance]
mine for + [substance]
mine + [area]
用法筆記
When the focus is on the substance being obtained, use the pattern 'mine for + substance' (intransitive). When naming the substance directly as the object, use 'mine + substance' (transitive). Both are correct.
2. to bury explosive mines in a stretch of land or water so that they will go off w
to bury explosive mines in a stretch of land or water so that they will go off when someone or something passes over them
The army mined the border crossing to slow down the advancing tanks.
transitive: mined + [place]
During the conflict, both sides mined large sections of the coast.
Noa read that retreating forces had mined the bridge and the road.
Commanders made the decision to mine the harbour entrance at night.
Fishermen were warned that the navy had mined the narrow channel.
- booby-trap
to set a hidden trap that may or may not be an explosive — 'mine' specifically means hiding explosive devices
文法句型
mine + [area/place]
be mined
用法筆記
The object is the area that receives the mines, not the mines themselves. 'They mined the harbour' means they put mines inside the harbour, not that they dug minerals there.
常見錯誤
3. to use computer programs to search through very large sets of digital informatio
to use computer programs to search through very large sets of digital information, looking for patterns, trends, or useful facts that people can act on
The supermarket mines customer receipts to work out which items sell best.
pattern: mine + [data source] for business insight
Researchers mined thousands of medical records looking for early signs of disease.
The app mines your listening history and suggests songs you might enjoy.
Companies now routinely mine social media posts to understand public opinion.
Yara's team mined the traffic data to find the busiest times at each station.
- analyse
a broader term for studying information closely; does not necessarily imply large-scale computer processing
- sift through
suggests manually searching through something, while 'mine' in this sense nearly always involves software
文法句型
mine + [data source]
mine + [data source] + for + [information]
用法筆記
Common in business and technology writing. The object is always the data source (receipts, records, posts), not the information you hope to find.
4. to run computer programs that solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to ear
to run computer programs that solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to earn new units of a digital currency such as Bitcoin
Henry started mining Bitcoin in his garage using old computer equipment.
transitive: mining + [cryptocurrency name]
The factory was converted into a centre that mines digital currency day and night.
collocation: mines digital currency
Some people mine cryptocurrency on their phones while they sleep.
Mining one Bitcoin now uses as much electricity as a small country.
Chidi's cousin mines Ethereum with a row of powerful machines in his basement.
文法句型
mine + [cryptocurrency]
mine for + [cryptocurrency]
mining + [cryptocurrency]
用法筆記
A recent sense that emerged with Bitcoin around 2009. The process involves verifying transactions on a blockchain network by solving cryptographic puzzles, which requires large amounts of electricity.