magnet school

American

noun

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

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:

magnet school

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

Her elementary school is a magnet school, so even though we moved across town, she can still keep going there.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

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