stope noun & verb. [stǝʊp] M18.
[App. rel. to STEP noun¹.]
Mining.
A. noun.
1. A step or notch in the side of a pit, or in an upright beam, to receive the end of a stemple or crosspiece. M18-M19.

2. A steplike working in the side of a pit. M18.
b. verb trans. & intrans.
1. Cut or excavate (mineral ground) in stopes or layer after layer; extract (ore) by this process. Also foll. by out. L18.

2. Geology. Of magma: make (its way) by detaching and absorbing blocks of the surrounding rock. Freq. as stoping verbal noun. E20.

■ stoper noun a person who stopes ore etc. L19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲