magnet
part of speech
noun (a magnet, magnets)
meaning for a pupil
1) A magnet is a piece of iron or other material that pulls (attracts) iron and steel things towards it. tree →
2) A magnet is a person or place that attracts many people: «The park is a magnet for families». tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, a magnet has a north pole and a south pole: opposite poles attract, like poles repel (push apart). Magnets attract iron, steel, nickel and cobalt, but not wood, plastic, paper, copper or aluminium. The Earth is like a huge magnet, which is why a compass points north. In safety, never let small children swallow small magnets: two can pinch the gut and are very dangerous.
examples
- The magnet picked up the paper clips. tree →
- Fridge magnets hold our drawings. tree →
- Opposite poles of a magnet attract. tree →
- Two north poles push each other away. tree →
- A magnet does not attract wood or plastic. tree →
- The compass needle is a tiny magnet. tree →
- Never swallow small magnets — they are dangerous. tree →
- The new playground is a magnet for kids. tree →
note
Countable: a magnet, magnets. «Magnetic» describes things that act like or are pulled by magnets. A common myth: magnets attract all metals — they do not; aluminium cans and copper coins are not attracted. Magnetic force can work through paper and air.
In the corpora
- A magnet pulls out iron and steel things but not sand; aluminium cans are not picked up by a magnet.
- Strong magnets can wipe the strips on bank cards and damage some electronics.
- Swallowing two or more small magnets can tear holes in the gut and needs urgent help.
- Strong magnets are kept away from bank cards and electronics.
- A swallowed button battery can burn through the throat within hours, and two swallowed magnets can stick together through the gut.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «magnet» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.