(physics) a device that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field
"The scientist placed a magnet near the paperclips to demonstrate how it attracted iron and produced a magnetic field."
a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts
"flowers are an attractor for bees"
A piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.
"The small magnet on the refrigerator held up a note written on iron paper."
In plain English: A magnet is an object that pulls on certain metals and can stick to them without touching.
"The teacher used a magnet to pick up the paperclip from the floor."
Usage: Use this term to describe any object, such as iron or neodymium, that generates an attractive force on ferromagnetic materials like steel and nickel. Avoid confusing it with the verb "magnetize," which refers specifically to the process of turning a non-magnetic material into one.
The word magnet comes from Ancient Greek magnētis líthos, meaning "stone from Magnesia," a region in Greece that may have given its name after the nearby Lydian city of Magnesia ad Sipylum. English adopted the term through Old French and Middle English to describe lodestone, which was historically used as an early compass needle.