Meaning & use
bar magnet
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A straight piece of metal or other material, usually shaped like a long rectangle, that pulls iron toward it and has a north and a south end.
Grammar: Countable, so it takes a/an and a plural: a bar magnet, several bar magnets.
Patterns
- a bar magnet attracts something
- the poles of a bar magnet
- hold a bar magnet near something
The teacher gave each pair of students a bar magnet and a box of paper clips.
If you put iron filings around a bar magnet, they line up and show the magnetic field.
A bar magnet has a north pole at one end and a south pole at the other.
nouncountabletechnical
A simple magnet of this shape used as a standard example when teaching or studying magnetism.
Grammar: Usually appears with the definite article in textbooks: the bar magnet in the diagram.
Patterns
- use a bar magnet in an experiment
- compare a bar magnet with an electromagnet
In the experiment, we moved a coil of wire past a bar magnet to make a current.
The textbook shows a bar magnet with arrows pointing from north to south outside it.
Word forms
| plural | bar magnets |
|---|
Common combinations
- a strong bar magnet
- A strong bar magnet can lift a small steel nail.
- the poles of a bar magnet
- The two poles of a bar magnet are always equal in strength.
- attract with a bar magnet
- You can attract the pins with a bar magnet from under the paper.
- a bar magnet and iron filings
- She sprinkled iron filings over a bar magnet to see the field pattern.
- the magnetic field of a bar magnet
- The magnetic field of a bar magnet is strongest near its ends.
- place a bar magnet under something
- Place a bar magnet under the card and gently tap it.
Synonyms and how they differ
- magnet
- The general word for any object that attracts iron; a bar magnet is only one shape of magnet, so use magnet when the shape does not matter.
- permanent magnet
- This stresses that the magnetism lasts on its own; a bar magnet is often a permanent magnet, but permanent magnet also covers other shapes such as horseshoes.
Word family
- magnetic adjective
- Having the power to attract iron, or relating to magnets.
- magnetism noun
- The force or property by which magnets attract iron and other materials.
- magnetize verb
- To make a piece of metal behave like a magnet.
- electromagnet noun
- A magnet made with a coil of wire and an electric current, rather than a solid bar.
Commonly confused: bar magnet or magnet? bar magnet or magnetic bar?
bar magnet vs magnet
Magnet is the general word for any such object; bar magnet names one particular straight shape, so it would be odd to call a horseshoe magnet a bar magnet.
bar magnet vs magnetic bar
Magnetic bar is not the usual term in science; learners should say bar magnet for the object itself.
Practice
Which sentence uses "bar magnet" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A bar magnet attracts iron, so it can pick up nails. Writing, boiling water, and measuring length are jobs done with pens, heat, and rulers, not with a magnet.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bar magnet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.