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magnet school

American  

noun

  1. a public school with special programs and instruction that are not available elsewhere in a school district and that are specially designed to draw students from throughout a district, especially to aid in desegregation.


magnet school British  

noun

  1. a school that provides a focus on one subject area throughout its curriculum in order to attract, often from an early age, pupils who wish to specialize in this subject

"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 magnet school

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

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.

See Examples For:

But Kearney eventually came back to her magnet school, Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration, after community fundraising efforts and her secondary teaching certification in English paved the way for her return.

From Salon Apr. 26, 2026

By far the biggest factor in admission, however, is whether an applicant has matriculated from another magnet school and how long an applicant has been on the waiting list for a magnet school.

From Salon Mar. 10, 2026

Aden said she’ll be relieved when Nora starts attending the magnet school next year.

From Seattle Times Mar. 16, 2024

We were in a theater magnet school, and so we were theater kids together.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 21, 2023

Eventually, a letter arrived saying that I had been accepted to a magnet school for gifted children.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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