strip mine
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.28 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A mine where the material above the ore is removed (stripped) to expose it for removal and use.
verb
Example Sentences
- "Estimates of coal which can be strip mined should not be interpreted to mean that this coal can only be strip mined. Strip mining began as a process of recovering coal which was located quite near the surface of the earth or at the "outcrop" on a hillside. But now it is common to strip mine coal which is buried beneath 80 to 150 feet or more of rock, quite enough rock to support the roof of an underground mine."
- "Because of its low sulfur content, Western coal is generally preferred over Eastern coal for environmental reasons. As a result, Western coal is being strip mined at unprecedented rates."
Inflected Forms
strip mines (plural)
strip-mine (alternative)
stripmine (alternative)
strip mines (present, singular)
strip mining (participle, present)
strip mined (participle, past)
strip mined (past)
Frequently Paired Words
underground mine