magnet

[ mag-nit ]
See synonyms for magnet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a body, as a piece of iron or steel, that possesses the property of attracting certain substances, as iron.

  2. a lodestone.

  1. a thing or person that attracts: The park was a magnet for pickpockets and muggers.

Origin of magnet

1
1400–50; late Middle English magnete<Latin magnēta<Greek mágnēta, accusative of mágnēs, short for () Mágnēs (líthos) (the stone) of Magnesia

Other words from magnet

  • coun·ter·mag·net, noun

Words that may be confused with magnet

Words Nearby magnet

Other definitions for magnet- (2 of 2)

magnet-

  1. variant of magneto- before some vowels: magneton.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use magnet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for magnet

magnet

/ (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

Origin of magnet

1
C15: via Latin from Greek magnēs, shortened from ho Magnēs lithos the Magnesian stone. See magnesia

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 magnet

magnet

[ măgnĭt ]


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

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for magnet

magnet

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.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.