maglev

American

[mag-lev] / ˈmægˌlɛv /

Or Maglev

noun

magnetic levitation.

maglev British

/ ˈmæɡˌlɛv /

noun

a type of high-speed train that runs on magnets supported by a magnetic field generated around the track

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of maglev

First recorded in 1965–70; by shortening

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.

For example, Ironlev’s elevators in use today use maglev to reduce friction, noise and wear but still rely on cable-and-shaft architecture that defines most commercial elevators today.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Additionally, observes Scientific American, superconductors repel magnetic fields, which could lead to more efficient magnetic levitation, or maglev, trains.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2023

This property lets researchers levitate magnets over a superconducting material as a fun experiment—and it could also lead to more efficient high-speed maglev trains.

From Scientific American • Mar. 10, 2023

I bought this one at Daiso for a couple of bucks; my dad’s got a much nicer model of the world record-setting MLX01 maglev train that I also got to try when I studied abroad.

From The Verge • Apr. 27, 2022

“There are ribbons of electromagnetic material in the lining of the bookcases. The strength of those magnets will be modulated by our maglev computer based on the call number you input.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023