What does "stope" mean?

Stope: A horizontal working forming one of a series, the working faces of which present the appearance of a flight of steps.

Additional senses

  1. 2.(a) To excavate in the form of stopes. (b) To fill in with rubbish, as a space from which the ore has been worked out.
  2. 3.Stepped; gone; advanced. [Obs.] A poor widow, somedeal stope in age. Chaucer.

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