Winze

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A steep shaft for such purposes as: to join two levels in a mine; or to explore greater depths when considering whether to open a new level; or to permit forced ventilation of deeper levels.

    "The air on the 2,350-ft. level passes through the main drift, while the air from the fan on the 2,250-ft. level passes into a cross-cut and a drift east of the main drift, returns, and joins the air passing through the main drift towards the Ophir winze."

Example

More examples

"The air on the 2,350-ft. level passes through the main drift, while the air from the fan on the 2,250-ft. level passes into a cross-cut and a drift east of the main drift, returns, and joins the air passing through the main drift towards the Ophir winze."

Etymology

Alteration of the plural noun winds, 1757.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.