stopePronunciation: /stəʊp/Definition of stope noun (usually stopes) a step-like working in a mine: they haul the rock out of the stopes using buckets driven by small motorized winches verb [no object] (usually as noun stoping) (in mining) excavate a series of steps or layers in (the ground or rock). (as noun stoping) Geology the process by which country rock is broken up and removed by the upward movement of magma. Origin: mid 18th century: apparently related to the noun stepstope in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of stope in the US English dictionary
