magnet
n. countablen. an object that pulls metal things toward it. It can also be a person or place that attracts a lot of people or attention.
n. a piece of iron or other material which has its component atoms so ordered that the material exhibits properties of magnetism. Often used figuratively to describe an entity that exerts a strong attraction on others.
The magnet pulls the paperclips across the table.
The new shopping mall acts as a magnet for tourists visiting the city center.
By applying a high-voltage current to the coil, the researchers created a powerful temporary magnet capable of lifting several tons of scrap metal.
From Middle English magnete, via Old French magnete, Latin magnēs, magnētem (“lodestone”), from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian [stone]”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonists who founded the city in Lydia). Related to manganese, magnesia and magnesium.
Often followed by the preposition 'for' when used in a figurative sense.