Jump To:

• magnet
  magnet

  noun

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

  variant of magneto- before some vowels.

magnet

¹ American  

[mag-nit] / ˈmæg nɪt /

noun

• magnets
  plural

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 American  

1. variant of magneto- before some vowels.

   magneton.

---

magnet British  

/ 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 Scientific  

/ măg′nĭt /

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 Cultural  

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

Derived Forms

• countermagnet
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• magnets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of magnet

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

Explanation

A magnet is a piece of metal with a strong attraction to another metal object. The attraction a magnet produces is called a "magnetic field." You might cover the front of your refrigerator with magnets, which stick to its metal surface. Other kinds of magnets are even more powerful, strong enough to pick up entire cars, for example. Most magnets are made of iron or an iron alloy, and magnets are at the heart of many common items like cassette tapes, credit cards, toys, and compasses.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magnet magnet- magnets

Genoa is once again a magnet for travelers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The US government has been pouring money into the development of companies specializing in separation, refining and magnet production.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

At the same time, the three-pronged gluon junction could behave somewhat like a Y-shaped magnet, drawing in three newly created quarks from the vacuum and producing a new baryon.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Garcha also must compete for students with independently operated charter schools and popular district magnet schools.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

If successful experimentation depends on nature being economical and regular, then the study of the magnet after Gilbert seemed to undermine the conviction that this was so.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

This is the first record of magnet-         ism.

From Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy

“It looks like a parking lot full of giant Christmas presents,” said Eileen Vasko, a server at the Silver City Mountain Resort, which sells marmot caps and magnets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

"But we can absolutely put into the supply chain a very meaningful amount of heavy rare earth elements that will produce the magnets that we domestically depend upon," he added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Incomes in San Francisco and San José, magnets for AI startups and major tech companies, rose more than 5% in 2025, putting them in the top 20 in terms of growth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Rare earth magnets, for example, are largely manufactured in China, where environmental rules and industrial standards differ from those in Sweden.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

They were young creatines—the same creatures whose eyes had met with the almost forgotten click of magnets in the smoky Hall of Camelot so long ago.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White