Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

magnetic mine

American  

noun

Navy.

  1. an underwater mine set off by any disturbance of its magnetic field, as by the metal hull of a ship.

magnetic mine British  

noun

  1. a mine designed to activate when a magnetic field such as that generated by the metal of a ship's hull is detected

"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 magnetic mine

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

Honeymooners spy for the British in 1939 Germany to learn more about the Nazis’ new magnetic mine.

From Los Angeles Times

A source told the news agency that the blast on Front Altair could have been a magnetic mine.

From Fox News

One source said the blast on the Front Altair, which caught fire and sent a huge plume of smoke into the air, may have been caused by a magnetic mine.

From Reuters

Shortly after Pompeo spoke in Washington, senior U.S. officials showed photographs to reporters of the damaged tanker Courageous with what the Navy identified as a suspected magnetic mine attached to its hull.

From Washington Post

One shipping broker said there had been an explosion “suspected from an outside attack” that may have involved a magnetic mine on the Kokuka.

From Reuters

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.