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• magneto
  magneto

  noun

  a 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.
• magneto-
  magneto-

  a combining form representing magnetic or magnetism in compound words.

magneto

¹ American  

[mag-nee-toh] / mægˈni toʊ /

noun

Electricity.

magnetos plural

1. a 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- ² American  

1. a combining form representing magnetic or magnetism in compound words.

   magnetochemistry.

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magneto ¹ British  

/ mæɡˈniːtəʊ /

noun

1. a small electric generator in which the magnetic field is produced by a permanent magnet, esp one for providing the spark in an internal-combustion engine

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magneto- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating magnetism or magnetic properties

   magnetosphere

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• magnetos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of magneto

First recorded in 1880–85; short for magnetoelectric generator

Example Sentences

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

The instruments froze; the magneto began to misbehave.

From Time Magazine Archive

The way to stop spark plugs from broadcasting, he decided, was to enclose the ignition wires in metal shields leading from the magneto to the plugs.

From Time Magazine Archive

The No. 1 favorite, wispy Bobby Hill of Columbus, Ohio, winner of five top races last year, went out on Lap 10 with a dead magneto.

From Time Magazine Archive

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