magnetite

[ mag-ni-tahyt ]

/ ˈmæg nɪˌtaɪt /

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noun

a very common black iron oxide mineral, Fe3O4, that is strongly attracted by magnets: an important iron ore.

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Origin of magnetite

1850–55; magnet + -ite¹; compare German Magnetit

Words nearby magnetite

magnetic tape unit, magnetic variation, magnetic wire, magnetic wood, magnetism, magnetite, magnetizable, magnetization, magnetize, magneto, magnetoacoustics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use magnetite in a sentence

Those shifts show whether the rocks contain minerals like magnetite, and radiometric data measures substances like uranium, thorium, and potassium.
The US government is hunting for rare metals out West. That doesn’t fly with some locals.|Sarah Scoles/Undark|November 10, 2021|Popular-Science
In the more basic phases anhedrons of augite and of olivine appear, and magnetite grains are usually present.
Mount Rainier|Various
Magnetite or magnetic iron ore, specular iron, and limonite are also oxides of iron.
Geology|James Geikie
Serpentine often contains it, when it is apt to resemble a fine-grained magnetite.
The A B C of Mining|Charles A. Bramble

It chiefly occurs as oxide, as in magnetite, hæmatite, and in the brown iron ores and ochres.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
Deposits of iron ore accumulated in the several ways referred to above may be metamorphosed and changed to hematite and magnetite.
North America|Israel C. Russell

British Dictionary definitions for magnetite

magnetite

/ (ˈmæɡnɪˌtaɪt) /

noun

a black magnetic mineral, found in igneous and metamorphic rocks and as a separate deposit. It is a source of iron. Composition: iron oxide. Formula: Fe 3 O 4 . Crystal structure: cubic

Derived forms of magnetite

magnetitic (ˌmæɡnɪˈtɪtɪk), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for magnetite

magnetite

[ măg′nĭ-tīt′ ]

A brown to black mineral that is strongly magnetic. It crystallizes in the cubic system and commonly occurs as small octahedrons. Magnetite occurs in many different types of rock and is an important source of iron. Chemical formula: Fe3O4.