Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Stope \Stope\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stoped}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Stoping}.] (Mining)
   (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.