lodestone

American  

[lohd-stohn] / ˈloʊdˌstoʊn /

Or loadstone

noun

1. a variety of magnetite that possesses magnetic polarity and attracts iron.

2. a piece of this serving as a magnet.

3. something that attracts strongly.

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lodestone British  

/ ˈləʊdˌstəʊn /

noun

1. 1. a rock that consists of pure or nearly pure magnetite and thus is naturally magnetic

   2. a piece of such rock, which can be used as a magnet and which was formerly used as a primitive compass

2. a person or thing regarded as a focus of attraction

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lodestone Scientific  

/ lōd′stōn′ /

1. A piece of the mineral magnetite that acts like a magnet.

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Etymology

Origin of lodestone

1505–15; lode (in obsolete sense “way, course”) + stone

Example Sentences

Not everyone will agree that establishing this new moral compact should be our party’s lodestone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

Putting R-Star into practice as a lodestone for policy has never been easy.

From Reuters • May 2, 2023

“The lodestone in American politics right now … is the Hispanic vote,” Reed said.

From Washington Post • May 10, 2022

The lodestone attracted an Australian company backed by Chinese investors that had hoped to blast an open-pit mine — until it ran into Ms. Paviasen.

From New York Times • Oct. 1, 2021

Tialys continued to pack the lodestone resonator away, and as he did so, the Lady Salmakia woke up nearby, sitting up graceful and slow from the little hollow she’d made in the soft sand.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman