Magnet

How to spell magnet

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce magnet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does magnet mean?

1. nounAn object that produces a magnetic field and attracts iron or steel.
2. nounA person, place, or thing that strongly attracts people or attention.

Magnet in a sentence

• She stuck the shopping list to the fridge with a small magnet.

• The new waterfront has become a magnet for tourists.

• The magnet in the speaker had come loose and rattled.

• His charm made him a magnet for new clients.

Where does magnet come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word goes back to the Greek phrase magnes lithos, meaning 'the stone from Magnesia', a region of ancient Asia Minor where naturally magnetic iron ore was found. The Greeks shortened this to magnes, and Latin took it up as magnes, magnetis, still meaning the lodestone that attracts iron. English borrowed it through Latin and Old French during the 1400s, originally as a name for the lodestone itself before the modern sense of any magnetic object settled in. The same root gives us 'magnetism', 'magnetic', and even 'magnesium' and 'manganese', all named after that one ore-rich district. The simple spelling rarely traps adults, since it follows its sound letter for letter.

How the word is built

• magnet (from Magnesia, the region)
• (no suffix; from Greek magnes lithos, the Magnesian stone)