📖 M — The English dictionary · page 32

miner — Everyday, meaning 1: A miner is a person who digs under the ground to get coal, gold, metal or stones.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In old stories miners used picks, lamps and carts in dark tunnels.↗ Example: There are 12 miners in the mine.↗ · Each miner digs 3 tons of coal a day.↗ · A miner found 8 gold nuggets.↗ · The miners shared the gold equally.↗ · Miners wear helmets with lamps on them.↗ · During the gold rush, many miners came to the river.↗ · The canary warned the miners about bad air.↗ · The miner pushed the cart out of the tunnel.↗

mineral — Everyday, meaning 1: A natural, non-living solid substance found in rocks and the ground, like quartz, salt, gold or iron ore.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A substance that our bodies need in small amounts to stay healthy, like calcium for bones and iron for blood.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Mineral water is water from a natural spring that has minerals dissolved in it.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In British and Irish English, "minerals" can mean fizzy soft drinks.↗ Example: Quartz is a common mineral.↗ · Milk contains the mineral calcium, which helps build strong bones.↗ · Plants take water and minerals from the soil.↗ · Granite is a rock made of several minerals.↗ · Would you like still or sparkling mineral water?↗ · Diamond is the hardest mineral.↗ · Our class made a rock and mineral collection.↗ · Iron is a mineral that helps your blood carry oxygen.↗

mineralogist — Everyday, meaning 1: A scientist who studies minerals — the natural solid materials such as quartz, salt and gold that make up rocks.↗ Example: A mineralogist looked at the shiny crystal under a lens.↗ · My aunt is a mineralogist at the museum.↗ · The mineralogist said the «gold» was really fool's gold.↗ · Mineralogists use a scale of hardness from 1 to 10.↗ · I want to be a mineralogist when I grow up.↗ · The mineralogist scratched the rock to test it.↗

ming — Everyday, meaning 1: (Mandarin, pinyin) «Míng» means «bright» or «clear» in Mandarin Chinese and is part of words like «míngtiān» (tomorrow) and «míngzi» (name).↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (history) The Ming dynasty was a family of emperors who ruled China for nearly three hundred years; it is famous for blue-and-white porcelain and for building much of the Great Wall we see today.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (a name) Ming is a Chinese personal name or part of one.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (UK slang) «Minging» means disgusting; «ming» is rarely heard on its own.↗ To an English ear it sounds just like it is spelt, «ming».↗ Example: In Mandarin, «míngtiān» means «tomorrow».↗ · «Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?» means «What is your name?»↗ · The museum had a blue-and-white Ming vase.↗ · Much of the Great Wall that tourists visit was built under the Ming emperors.↗ · My friend Ming sits next to me in maths.↗ · The Ming dynasty came after the Mongol rulers of China.↗ · Pinyin «ming» sounds the same as it looks in English.↗

mingle — Everyday, meaning 1: To mingle is to mix things together so that the parts can no longer be told apart.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To mingle is to move about among people and join in with them.↗ Example: Mix the blue and yellow paint and they mingle into green.↗ · At the party the children mingled and played.↗ · The sound of the carts mingled with the church bells.↗ · Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together.↗ (Torah DEU.22.11, JPS 1917)↗ · And every meal-offering, mingled with oil, or dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as well as another.↗ (Torah LEV.7.10, JPS 1917)↗ · and their meal-offering, fine flour mingled with oil, three tenth parts for the bullock, two tenth part for the ram, (Torah NUM.29.3, JPS 1917)↗ · But mingled themselves with the nations, and learned their works; (Writings PSA.106.35, JPS 1917)↗ · For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, (Writings PSA.102.10, JPS 1917)↗ · 'Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.↗ (Writings PRO.9.5, JPS 1917)↗

mini — Everyday, meaning 1: Mini means very small or smaller than usual: a mini pizza, a mini test.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: As the start of a word (mini-), it means "small": minibus, minibeast, miniskirt, mini-golf.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A Mini is a small British car.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (informal) A mini is a short skirt (a miniskirt).↗ Example: Write your answer on your mini whiteboard.↗ · We went on a minibeast hunt and found three snails.↗ · The party had mini sausages and mini muffins.↗ · Our class went to the zoo in a minibus.↗ · Let's have a mini quiz before lunch.↗ · Grandma drove a little red Mini.↗ · We played mini-golf on holiday.↗

miniature — Everyday, meaning 1: Miniature means very small, a much smaller copy of something.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A miniature is a tiny model or a very small painting, often of a person's face.↗ Example: We rode on a miniature railway at the park.↗ · My dollhouse has miniature furniture.↗ · A Shetland pony looks like a miniature horse.↗ · She painted a miniature of her grandmother.↗ · The model village is London in miniature.↗ · Miniature golf is a fun game.↗ · This man seeks the fresh sea breeze, while that one climbs the lofty mountain-top, to look down upon the busy life in miniature beneath him."↗

minibus — Everyday, meaning 1: A small bus that carries about 8 to 16 passengers.↗ Example: The football team went to the match in the school minibus.↗ · A minibus holds 15 children.↗ · We need 3 minibuses for 40 pupils.↗ · The minibus picked us up from the airport.↗ · Our teacher drove the minibus to the museum.↗ · Everyone must wear a seat belt on the minibus.↗

minim — Everyday, meaning 1: (music, UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland) A note that lasts for two beats in common time; in the US it is called a «half note».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (old measure) A tiny unit of liquid, about one drop.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (handwriting) A short downward stroke of the pen, as in the letters m, n, u and i.↗ Example: A minim lasts for two beats.↗ · Two minims fill one bar in 4/4 time.↗ · A dotted minim lasts for three beats.↗ · The minim looks like an empty circle with a stick.↗ · In America, a minim is called a half note.↗ · One minim equals two crotchets.↗ · Hold the minim for two counts: «one, two».↗ · The song ends on a long minim.↗

minimalism — Everyday, meaning 1: (art, design, music) A style that uses very few, simple shapes, colours or notes, leaving out everything that is not needed.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (lifestyle) Living with fewer things and buying only what you really need.↗ Example: Minimalism uses simple shapes and lots of empty space.↗ · Our art teacher showed us minimalism with paintings of single squares.↗ · The new library has a style of minimalism: white walls and plain shelves.↗ · Minimalism in music repeats short patterns.↗ · My aunt tried minimalism and gave away half her clothes.↗ · Minimalism can help the planet by reducing waste.↗ · Phone apps often use minimalism so they are easy to use.↗ · Some people find minimalism calming; others find it boring.↗

minimalist — Everyday, meaning 1: (adjective) Very simple, using as few things, shapes or decorations as possible: «a minimalist bedroom».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (noun) An artist, designer or composer who works in the style of minimalism.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (noun) A person who chooses to live with very few possessions.↗ Example: Her bedroom is minimalist: a bed, a desk and a plant.↗ · The logo is minimalist, just a simple circle.↗ · A minimalist artist might paint one line on a canvas.↗ · My uncle is a minimalist and owns only 100 things.↗ · The minimalist poster had three words and lots of white space.↗ · We designed minimalist book covers in art.↗ · The music was minimalist, repeating the same few notes.↗ · Minimalist packing means only taking what you need.↗

minimisation — Everyday, meaning 1: Making something as small as possible: «the minimisation of waste».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (maths) Finding the smallest possible value of something under some rules.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Making a problem seem less serious than it really is: «minimisation of bullying is harmful».↗ Example: The school has a waste minimisation plan.↗ · Risk minimisation means wearing a helmet when cycling.↗ · The maths puzzle was about minimisation of the travel distance.↗ · Minimisation of costs helped the club save money.↗ · Saying «it's just teasing» can be a minimisation of bullying.↗ · Engineers work on the minimisation of energy use.↗ · Minimisation and maximisation are both kinds of optimisation.↗ · The minimisation of plastic packaging is good for the oceans.↗

minimise — Everyday, meaning 1: To make something as small or as little as possible: minimise the risk.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To make something seem less important or serious than it is: don't minimise her worries.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (computing) To make a window on a screen shrink to a small button or icon.↗ Example: Wear a helmet to minimise the risk of head injury.↗ · Let's minimise waste by recycling.↗ · Minimise the window and open the game again.↗ · He minimised the problem, saying it was nothing.↗ · We want to minimise the cost of the trip.↗ · Close the door to minimise noise.↗ · Find the shortest route to minimise travel time.↗ · Don't minimise your friend's feelings.↗

minimum — Everyday, meaning 1: The smallest amount, number or level possible or allowed.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (adjective) Being the smallest possible or allowed.↗ e.g. "the minimum age".↗ Example: The minimum temperature last night was 2 °C.↗ · You must be a minimum of 120 cm tall for this ride.↗ · Keep noise to a minimum in the library.↗ · Find the minimum value in the list: 7, 3, 9, 5.↗ It is 3.↗ · He did the bare minimum of homework.↗ · The minimum number of players is four.↗

minister — Everyday, meaning 1: A minister is a person in charge of a government department, such as the minister for education.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A minister is a leader in some Christian churches who leads services.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To minister to someone is to look after them.↗ Example: The Prime Minister spoke on television.↗ · The education minister visited our school.↗ · The minister read from the Bible on Sunday.↗ · Each minister is in charge of one department.↗ · Nurses ministered to the sick.↗ · Who is the health minister?↗ · “But he is my prime minister’s son!”↗ · And Joseph found favour in his sight, and he ministered unto him.↗ (Torah GEN.39.4, JPS 1917)↗ · And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister; and Moses went up into the mount of God.↗ (Torah EXO.24.13, JPS 1917)↗ · 'Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.↗ (Torah NUM.3.6, JPS 1917)↗ · And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli.↗ (Prophets 1SA.3.1, JPS 1917)↗ · and Ira also the Jairite was chief minister unto David.↗ (Prophets 2SA.20.26, JPS 1917)↗ · Who makest winds Thy messengers, the flaming fire Thy ministers.↗ (Writings PSA.104.4, JPS 1917)↗

ministry — Everyday, meaning 1: A government department led by a minister: the Ministry of Education.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The work of a religious leader such as a priest or minister.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (formal) The time someone spends as a government minister or religious minister.↗ Example: The Ministry of Education decides what schools teach.↗ · My uncle works for the Ministry of Transport.↗ · The ministry announced new rules for cars.↗ · Her father entered the ministry and became a vicar.↗ · The Ministry of Health gives advice about flu.↗ · Each ministry is led by a minister.↗ · The minister spoke about his ministry in the church.↗ · And they shall take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on a bar.↗ (Torah NUM.4.12, JPS 1917)↗ · I have also spoken unto the prophets, and I have multiplied visions; and by the ministry of the prophets have I used similitudes.↗ (Prophets HOS.12.11, JPS 1917)↗

mink — Everyday, meaning 1: A small, long, thin animal of the weasel family with dark brown fur, living near rivers and lakes and good at swimming and hunting.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Its soft, shiny fur, made into expensive coats, or a coat made of it: «a mink coat».↗ Example: A mink slipped into the river and swam away.↗ · American mink hunt water voles along British rivers.↗ · The rich lady wore a mink coat.↗ · Fur farming of mink is banned in the UK.↗ · Mink are good swimmers and divers.↗ · The mink has a thick, dark brown coat.↗ · There, just as he had hoped, he saw the chief mink fishing in a canoe.↗

minoan — Everyday, meaning 1: (history) To do with the Minoans, an ancient Bronze Age civilisation on the Greek island of Crete, from about 3000 to 1100 BC.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (noun) A person from that civilisation.↗ Example: The Minoans lived on the island of Crete.↗ · The Minoan palace of Knossos had hundreds of rooms.↗ · Minoan frescoes show dolphins and young people leaping over bulls.↗ · The Minoan civilisation is named after the legendary King Minos.↗ · Nobody can yet read the Minoan writing called Linear A.↗ · A huge volcanic eruption on Thera hurt Minoan trade.↗ · Minoan sailors traded with Egypt.↗ · The Minoans were one of the first great civilisations in Europe.↗