noun
ore
OR/ɔːr/
Rock or mineral from which valuable material, especially metal, can be extracted.
The copper-bearing ore yields metal that can be formed into an ingot.
Etymology
Old English ora meant ore or unworked metal and merged with ar, meaning brass, copper, or bronze. The modern sense preserves ora's meaning: metal-bearing material rather than a particular finished metal.
In context
But extracting the ore is just the beginning. The real value is hidden in microscopic inclusions of rare earth minerals.
More examples
- The mine ships iron ore to a nearby steel mill.
- This ore contains enough copper to make extraction worthwhile.
- Different ores require different methods of processing.
Forms
ore · ores