magnetic compass


noun
  1. a compass having a magnetized needle generally in line with the magnetic poles of the earth.

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How to use magnetic compass in a sentence

  • The magnetic compass has been for ages the mariner's guide over the trackless waters.

  • Thus we have testimony to the importance of these little vagaries on the part of the magnetic compass.

  • Altogether, then, it is not surprising that the old magnetic compass is somewhat unreliable.

  • We found there a penknife, a small magnetic compass, and many other remnants of the fall.

  • The needle of a magnetic compass serves very well as a magnetoscope.

    Physics | Willis Eugene Tower

British Dictionary definitions for magnetic compass

magnetic compass

noun
  1. a compass containing a magnetic needle pivoted in a horizontal plane, that indicates the direction of magnetic north at points on the earth's surface

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