Magnet
noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.
- 2 (physics) a device that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field wordnet
- 3 An alluring or attractive person or thing. figuratively, in-compounds, informal, often
"He always had a girl on his arm – he's a bit of a babe magnet."
- 4 a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts wordnet
- 5 Ellipsis of magnet link. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"Magnets are thus used to create a package of cryptologic information and bundling^([sic]) it together."
Example
More examples"In other words, the field of the magnet is near the pigeon's head."
Etymology
From Middle English magnete, via Old French magnete, Latin magnēs, magnētem (“lodestone”), from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian [stone]”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonists who founded the city in Lydia). Related to manganese, magnesia and magnesium.
Related phrases
More for "magnet"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.