Definition

Noun: 1. A coal miner: A person whose occupation is to extract coal from underground or surface mines. 2. A ship for transporting coal: A vessel specifically designed or used for carrying coal as cargo. 3. A sailor on a coal ship: A member of the crew serving on a coal-carrying vessel.

Usage Examples

• Noun (coal miner):
  • Her grandfather was a collier in Wales for over forty years.
  • The life of a collier in the 19th century was often dangerous and difficult.
• Noun (coal ship):
  • The collier was loaded with fuel for the power station.
  • A fleet of colliers regularly supplied the coastal factory.
• Noun (sailor on a coal ship):
  • He worked as a collier, sailing between Newcastle and London.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Industrial Context: The term is strongly associated with historical coal-mining regions and the era of steam power, when coal was the primary industrial fuel.
  • The museum exhibit detailed the tools used by a collier in the 1800s.
• As part of a compound noun (listed separately): The word forms part of specific historical job titles or terms, such as "collier-hewer" (a miner who cuts coal).

Variants and Related Words

• Colliery (n): A coal mine and its associated buildings and equipment.
  • The abandoned colliery is now a heritage site.

Synonyms

• Coal miner: pitman, miner (in a coal context).
• Coal ship: coal carrier, bulk carrier (when carrying coal).
• Sailor: seaman, mariner.

Related Phrases

• To work as a collier: To have the job of a coal miner.
  • He began to work as a collier at the age of fourteen.

Noun

1. someone who works in a coal mine