magnet

1 of 2

noun

mag·net ˈmag-nət

Synonyms of magnet next

: lodestone

: a body having the property of attracting iron and producing a magnetic field external to itself

specifically : a mass of iron, steel, or alloy that has this property artificially imparted

: something that attracts

a box-office magnet

magnet-

2 of 2

combining form

variants or magneto-

: magnetic force

magnetometer

: magnetism : magnetic

magnetoelectric

magneton

: magnetoelectric

magnetoresistance

: magnetosphere

magnetopause

Examples of magnet in a Sentence

Noun the giant theme park is a magnet for tourists to the area

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At just $5, the medium-weight plastic liner includes weighted magnets to hold the liner in place. —

Alice Knisley Matthias, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Sep. 2023 Season 2, in which Marie subjected herself to fringe therapies (magnets, tuning forks), surveyed the wellness industry. —

Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023 Others require enormous amounts of energy, such as giant magnets cooled down to the temperature of liquid helium that can induce photon polarization by changing photons’ energy states. —

IEEE Spectrum, 5 Sep. 2023 His latest is the life of the controversy magnet who cracked the electric car market with Tesla; whose Space X is a major player in space exploration; and whose latest project is his overhaul of Twitter into his own troll-ish, chaotic right-wing image. —

Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2023 In Trump's absence, DeSantis will be the highest polling candidate on stage -- and likely the biggest magnet for attacks. —

Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2023 The sports complex is envisioned as a magnet for youth sports tournaments that would allow Little Rock to compete with other cities for those events. —

Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2023 In 2013, Ornstein began creating his concepts for toys in his kitchen by working with paper, magnets and other toys. —

Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023 The zone where Florida’s peninsula and panhandle meet, at Apalachee Bay, appeared Tuesday to be drawing the advancing hurricane in like a magnet. —

Annie Gowen, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'magnet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English magnete, from Anglo-French, from Latin magnet-, magnes, from Greek magnēs (lithos), literally, stone of Magnesia, ancient city in Asia Minor

Combining form

Latin magnet-, magnes

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of magnet was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century