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Glite Dictionary
🛠️ Frontline work ⛏️ Mining surface
coalface

coalface

8.3
The part of a coal mine where miners work to remove coal
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊlfeɪs/
  • UK
translation icon : frente de carbón
  • The miners spent hours working at the coalface deep underground.

Examples

  • Dust levels at the coalface can pose serious health risks to workers.

  • Safety measures at the coalface have greatly improved in recent years.

  • The miners worked hard at the coalface.

  • Many dangers exist at the coalface during extraction.

  • The workers gathered their tools before heading to the coalface for another long day of mining.

  • Daily inspections ensure safety protocols are followed at the coalface, protecting the miners from hazards.

  • After weeks of preparation, the team finally reached the coalface and began extracting the valuable resource.

How Active

coalface
  • UK
8.3
working
866 6.4

Surface Forms

coalface singular
coalfaces plural

Morphology

coalface = coal + face (transparent) = coal + face

A direct lexical compound: 'coal' + 'face' yields the surface of a coal seam, so the literal mining meaning is clearly derivable from its parts.

Etymology

Coalface comes from the two simple words coal and face. It was the 'face' or exposed surface of a coal seam where miners worked, so coalface means the place in the mine where the work happens.