magnet

From Middle English magnete, via Old French magnete, Latin magnēs, magnētem (“lodestone”), from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian ”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonist who founded the city in Lydia). Related to manganese, magnesia and magnesium.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmæɡnət/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmæɡnɪt/
• Homophone: magnate (one pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -ɪt

English Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia

magnet (plural magnets)

1. A piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.
2. (informal, figuratively, often in combination) A person or thing that attracts what is denoted by the preceding noun.

   He always had a girl on his arm – he's a bit of a babe magnet.

   • 1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in Railway Magazine, page 157:

     Iron and coal were the magnets that drew railways to this land of lovely valleys and silent mountains—for such it was a century-and-a-half ago, before man blackened the valleys with the smoke of his forges, scarred the green hills with his shafts and waste-heaps, and drove the salmon from the quiet Rhondda and the murmuring Taff.

   • 2007 March, J. Michael Fay, “Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma”, in National Geographic, section 47:

     […] I wanted to show Nick the largest of the water holes, Rigueik, that act as magnets to life in the dry season.

   • 2022, Steve Mann, Easy Peasy Cocker Spaniel:

     Regular baths will help keep your dog clean and fresh-smelling. The frequency will depend entirely on your own preferences as well as how much of a mud-magnet your dog is!

3. (Internet) Short for magnet link.
   • 2019, David Adams, Ann-Kathrin Maier, Big Seven Study (2016): 7 open source Crypto-Messengers to be compared, page 142:

     Magnets are thus used to create a package of cryptologic information and bundling it together.

• electret (a magnet analog for electric charge)

• → Cebuano: magnet
• →? Indonesian: magnet
• →? Malay: magnet
• → Tagalog: magnet
• → Welsh: magnet

• magnet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• Getman

Albanian Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^sq

magnet m (plural magnete, definite magneti, definite plural magnetet)

1. magnet

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎, 1980

Borrowed from English magnet, from Old French magnete, Latin magnetum "lodestone" from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian ”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonist who founded the city in Lydia).

• Hyphenation: mag‧net

magnet

1. magnet

Derived from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις (magnêtis).

• IPA^(key):

magnet m inan

1. magnet

• “magnet”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “magnet”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “magnet”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^da

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

magnet c (singular definite magneten, plural indefinite magneter)

1. magnet

• “magnet” in Den Danske Ordbog

Estonian Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^et

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑɡ̊net/

magnet (genitive magneti, partitive magnetit)

1. magnet

• magnet in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
• “magnet”, in Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “magnet”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN

magnet f (genitive singular magnetar, plural magnetir)

1. magnet

• sigul
• magnetur

• "magnet" at Sprotin.fo

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^id

• maknit (obsolete)

Borrowed from Dutch magneet, from Middle Dutch magneet, from older magnes, from Latin magnēs, from Ancient Greek μαγνήτης λίθος (magnḗtēs líthos).

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɡnɛt/
• Rhymes: -aɡnɛt
• Syllabification: mag‧net

magnet (plural magnet-magnet)

1. magnet:
   1. (electromagnetism) a piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.

      Synonyms: sembrani, besi sembrani, batu semberani, batu berani

• “magnet” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^ms

From English magnet, from Middle English magnete, via Old French magnete, Latin magnēs, magnētem (“lodestone”), from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian ”).

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -nɛt, -ɛt
• Hyphenation: mag‧net

magnet (Jawi spelling مݢنيت, plural magnet-magnet, informal 1st possessive magnetku, 2nd possessive magnetmu, 3rd possessive magnetnya)

1. A magnet.

   Synonyms: besi berani, semberani

• “magnet” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

magnet

1. Alternative form of magnete

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^no

magnet m (definite singular magneten, indefinite plural magneter, definite plural magnetene)

1. a magnet

• “magnet” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

magnet m (definite singular magneten, indefinite plural magnetar, definite plural magnetane)

1. a magnet

• “magnet” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Romanian Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^ro

Borrowed from German Magnet.

• IPA^(key): /maɡˈnet/

magnet m (plural magneți)

1. magnet

• magnet in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “the exact, indirect route from Greek, please”)

• IPA^(key): /mǎɡneːt/
• Hyphenation: mag‧net

màgnēt m (Cyrillic spelling ма̀гне̄т)

1. a magnet (piece of material that attracts metal by magnetism)

• “magnet”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Slovak Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^sk

• IPA^(key):

magnet m inan (relational adjective magnetový or magnetický)

1. magnet

• “magnet”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Slovene Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^sl

• IPA^(key): /maɡnéːt/

magnẹ̑t m inan

1. magnet

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

• “magnet”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^sv

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “the exact route, please”)

magnet c

1. a magnet (piece of material that attracts metal by magnetism)
2. (figuratively) something that attracts something

   en riktig publikmagnet

   a real attraction

   brudmagnet

   chick magnet

• → Finnish: magneetti

• magnet in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• magnet in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• magnet in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Borrowed from English magnet.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɡnet/
• Rhymes: -aɡnet
• Syllabification: mag‧net

magnet (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜄ᜔ᜈᜒᜆ᜔)

1. magnet

   Synonym: balani

• magnetiko
• magnetismo

• “magnet”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Welsh Wikipedia has an article on:

magnet

Wikipedia ^cy

Borrowed from English magnet.

magnet m or f (plural magnetau or magnets)

1. magnet

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “magnet”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies