What does adit mean?
An adit is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage driven into a hillside to give access to a mine. Unlike a vertical shaft, an adit can be walked or ridden into directly, and because it sits at a lower level than much of the surrounding workings, it often serves the practical purpose of draining water from the mine by gravity. The word is a technical term encountered chiefly in mining engineering, geology, and accounts of industrial history, and it carries no figurative or everyday use. Adits were especially important in hilly mining districts such as Cornwall and the Rocky Mountains, where tunnels could be cut into valley walls to reach ore seams deep below the surface. For readers exploring historical mining texts or landscape features, knowing this word helps distinguish the various kinds of mine openings described.
nounA horizontal or nearly horizontal passage leading into a mine for access, drainage, or ventilation.
- A horizontal or near-horizontal entrance passage into a mine, typically driven into a hillside for access, drainage, or ventilation.
"The miners entered the workings through an old adit cut into the hillside."
"Water drained steadily from the abandoned adit at the base of the mountain."
"Surveyors marked the new adit's position before blasting began."
Regular plural formation.
"Several adits punctuate the cliff face along the old tramway route."
Every mine needs a door — and when that door is dug straight into the side of a hill, miners call it an adit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adit
The word 'adit' comes from the Latin 'aditus', meaning 'an approach or entrance', formed from 'adire', 'to go toward', itself built on 'ad-' ('to') and 'ire' ('to go'). It entered English in the early seventeenth century, adopted by miners and engineers for the entrance passages they drove into hillsides. It shares its Latin root with words such as 'exit', 'transit', and 'itinerary'.
How adit is actually used
A technical term used mainly in mining, geology, and industrial history. Unlike a shaft, which is vertical, an adit is horizontal and often allows water to drain out by gravity alone.
Easily confused with adit
An 'adit' is a mine entrance, while an 'audit' is a formal examination of accounts or records.