noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The supposed ability to sense a magnetic field and coordinate movement in response, later discovered to be natural magnetism: such creatures orient themselves magnetically even after death uncountable

Etymology

From magneto- + taxis; coined in 1975 by R. P. Blakemore to describe certain motile aquatic bacteria.

Related phrases

magnetic field

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.