magnet-

¹

1. variant of magneto- before some vowels.

   magneton.

magnet

²

[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

/ 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 magnet-¹

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 magnet-¹

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

Example Sentences

China, the world's top producer of rare earths, in October announced new controls on the export of the elements, used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defence industries.

Read more on Barron's

It included an equity stake, a price floor for rare-earth materials, and a guaranteed customer for rare-earth magnets that MP is building capacity to make.

Read more on Barron's

The display also featured Dahl's personal set of boules, along with his own invention of a magnet on a string, which Dahl used for picking up each boule.

Read more on BBC

This produced sturdy hydrogel microspheres that travel through the digestive tract and can be removed from stool with a magnet.

Read more on Science Daily

First, the U.S. approved China’s purchase of U.S. rare-earth magnet company Magnequench from General Motors, thereby acquiring a highly advanced technology that arguably would have taken many years to develop.

Read more on MarketWatch