electromagnetic
Americanadjective
adjective
-
of, containing, or operated by an electromagnet
an electromagnetic pump
-
of, relating to, or consisting of electromagnetism
electromagnetic moment
-
of or relating to electromagnetic radiation
the electromagnetic spectrum
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of electromagnetic
Explanation
The adjective electromagnetic describes a powerful natural force that's caused by an electrical charge. Objects that have an electromagnetic charge act like ordinary magnets, attracting and repelling other objects — but the source of their magnetism is an electric current flowing inside them. Electromagnetic, a combination of electric and magnetic, dates from the 1820s, soon after the force itself was discovered by a Danish scientist who noticed a magnetic compass needle moving when it was close to a live electric wire.
Vocabulary lists containing electromagnetic
Waves and Wave Properties - Introductory
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Waves and Wave Properties - Middle School
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Electricity and Magnetism - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The firm’s sensors, which monitor the electromagnetic fields around transmission lines, captured instances of large data centers swinging power consumption by 50 megawatts or more within minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
High-power microwave systems are generally less vulnerable to rain, fog or smoke than lasers, but still depend on line of sight, range, beam control and the surrounding electromagnetic environment.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026
Quaise's application involves "sending electromagnetic waves in the microwave millimetre wave spectrum to essentially melt and vaporise through the rock," explains Harry Kelso, Quaise's communications manager.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
It expands the simulation in Syopsys’ chip design software to include electrical, thermal, electromagnetic, and mechanical effects, shortening the chip design pipeline for the increasingly complex architectures coming from AI chip makers.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
This suggested that the atomic interior was an electromagnetic maelstrom buffeting the particle on his journey, not a serene, solid pudding.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
