Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

magnet

1 American  
[mag-nit] / ˈmæg nɪt /

noun

  1. a body, as a piece of iron or steel, that possesses the property of attracting certain substances, as iron.

  2. a lodestone.

  3. a thing or person that attracts.

    The park was a magnet for pickpockets and muggers.
magnet- 2 American  

  1. variant of magneto- before some vowels.

    magneton.
magnet British  
/ ˈmæɡnɪt /

noun

  1. a body that can attract certain substances, such as iron or steel, as a result of a magnetic field; a piece of ferromagnetic substance See also electromagnet

  2. a person or thing that exerts a great attraction

"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
magnet Scientific  
/ măg′nĭt /

  1. A material or object that produces a magnetic field. Lodestones are natural magnets, though many materials, especially metals, can be made into magnets by exposing them to a magnetic field.

  2. See also electromagnet ferromagnetism magnetic pole See Note at magnetism

magnet Cultural  

  1. An object that attracts iron and some other materials. Magnets are said to generate a magnetic field around themselves. Every magnet has two poles, called the north and south poles. Magnetic poles exert forces on each other in such a way that like poles repel and unlike poles attract each other. A compass is a small magnet that is affected by the magnetic field of the Earth in such a way that it points to a magnetic pole of the Earth. (See magnetic field and magnetism.)

Other Word Forms

  • countermagnet noun

Etymology

Origin of magnet

1400–50; late Middle English magnete < Latin magnēta < Greek mágnēta, accusative of mágnēs, short for ( hē ) Mágnēs ( líthos ) (the stone) of Magnesia

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.

Somehow, electrical messages flew invisibly on wires from one place to another using magnets.

From Literature

Last July the Pentagon took a 15% stake in MP as part of a deal in which the company agreed to build a new factory to make rare-earth magnets.

From The Wall Street Journal

Thursday, MP unveiled the location for its next facility to produce rare- earth magnets, called 10X.

From Barron's

The site is less than 10 miles from MP’s existing magnet facility in Fort Worth.

From Barron's

The iPhone maker is committing billions to suppliers that make glass for devices in Kentucky, recycle rare-earth magnets in California and build silicon components in Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.