D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Electro-magnet

· E·lec·tro-mag·net · IPA
01 n. A mass, usually of soft iron, but sometimes of some other magnetic metal, as nickel or cobalt, rendered temporarily magnetic by being place…
  1. 1.
    A mass, usually of soft iron, but sometimes of some other magnetic metal, as nickel or cobalt, rendered temporarily magnetic by being placed within a coil of wire through which a current of electricity is passing. The metal is generally in the form of a bar, either straight, or bent into the shape of a horseshoe.