magnet

¹

[mag-nit]

noun

1. a body, as a piece of iron or steel, that possesses the property of attracting certain substances, as iron.

2. a lodestone.

3. a thing or person that attracts.

   The park was a magnet for pickpockets and muggers.

magnet-

²

1. variant of magneto- before some vowels.

   magneton.

magnet

/ ˈmæɡnɪt /

noun

1. a body that can attract certain substances, such as iron or steel, as a result of a magnetic field; a piece of ferromagnetic substance See also electromagnet

2. a person or thing that exerts a great attraction

magnet

1. A material or object that produces a magnetic field. Lodestones are natural magnets, though many materials, especially metals, can be made into magnets by exposing them to a magnetic field.

2. See also electromagnet ferromagnetism magnetic pole See Note at magnetism

magnet

1. An object that attracts iron and some other materials. Magnets are said to generate a magnetic field around themselves. Every magnet has two poles, called the north and south poles. Magnetic poles exert forces on each other in such a way that like poles repel and unlike poles attract each other. A compass is a small magnet that is affected by the magnetic field of the Earth in such a way that it points to a magnetic pole of the Earth. (See magnetic field and magnetism.)

Other Word Forms

• countermagnet noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of magnet¹

1400–50; late Middle English magnete < Latin magnēta < Greek mágnēta, accusative of mágnēs, short for ( hē ) Mágnēs ( líthos ) (the stone) of Magnesia

Word History and Origins

Origin of magnet¹

C15: via Latin from Greek magnēs, shortened from ho Magnēs lithos the Magnesian stone. See _magnesia

Example Sentences

California’s high concentration of rehab facilities and large population continue to make it a magnet for operators hoping to be overlooked by overburdened regulators.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

MP produces mined material and rare earth magnets.

Read more on Barron's

Technology used to mine and process rare earths, or to make magnets from rare earths, can only be exported with permission from the government, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Read more on BBC

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides the theoretical foundation that could eventually lead to new electronic devices controlled by simple magnets.

Read more on Science Daily

Developed in Australia, these wrist magnets repel the sharks, he said, and “feel like a punch in the nose” to the sharks if they get too close.

Read more on Los Angeles Times