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magneto
magnetonouna small electric generator with an armature that rotates in a magnetic field provided by permanent magnets, as a generator supplying ignition current for certain types of internal combustion engines or a hand-operated generator for telephone signaling.
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magneto-
magneto-a combining form representing magnetic or magnetism in compound words.
magneto
1 Americannoun
noun
combining form
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of magneto
First recorded in 1880–85; short for magnetoelectric generator
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.
I know only one thing about them for certain, and that is that my engineer grandfather designed a magneto for the Ford Model A, which replaced the hugely successful Model T in 1928.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2022
On the 87th lap, Defending Champion Johnny Parsons dropped out with magneto trouble.
From Time Magazine Archive
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And it was not until Bosch began to make a high-tension magneto with high-tension spark plugs� a simplified ignition system�that Bosch became an international name.
From Time Magazine Archive
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When the proposal to replace the magneto phones with modern equipment came before the public utilities commission recently, more than 200 townspeople showed up to defend the system.
From Time Magazine Archive
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He switched over to the magneto and the Ford of Lee Chong chuckled and jiggled and clattered happily as though it knew it was working for a man who loved and understood it.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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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.