permanent magnet

American  

noun

1. a magnet that retains its magnetism after being removed from an external magnetic field.

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permanent magnet British  

noun

1. a magnet, often of steel, that retains its magnetization after the magnetic field producing it has been removed

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permanent magnet Scientific  

/ pûr′mə-nənt /

1. A piece of ferromagnetic material that retains its magnetism after it has been magnetized.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• permanent magnetism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of permanent magnet

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Breaking Beijing’s chokehold on rare-earth supply chains requires resolving three bottlenecks: the concentration of heavy rare-earth feedstock in Myanmar and China; catching up in rare-earth processing; and rapidly scaling permanent magnet production.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025

Afterward, the researchers collected the robots with a permanent magnet and used ultrasound to detach the bacteria clinging to them.

From Science Daily • May 8, 2024

And, at present, China massively dominates global permanent magnet production, with more than 90% market share.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2024

Neo owns the only commercial rare earth separation facility in Europe and is prepared to build a $100 million permanent magnet factory in Estonia, Karayannopoulos added.

From Reuters • Aug. 23, 2021

The added power was obtained by turning the instrument inside out, as it were, making the coil the moving part and the permanent magnet the fixed part.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Corbin, Thomas W.