Wiktionary
STOPE, noun. A mining excavation in the form of a terrace of steps.
STOPE, verb. (mining) To excavate in the form of stopes.
STOPE, verb. (mining) To fill in with rubbish, as a space from which the ore has been worked out.
Wise words
We should have a great fewer disputes in the world if words
were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only,
and not for things themselves.
