magnetic north
nounDefinition of magnetic north
: the northerly direction in the earth's magnetic field indicated by the north-seeking pole of a compass needle
Examples of magnetic north in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The magnetic state of our world is constantly changing, with the magnetic north and south poles wandering by a few degrees every century or so. — Emily Toomey, Smithsonian, "Earth’s Magnetic Field Could Take Longer to Flip Than Previously Thought," 8 Aug. 2019 The magnetic field reverses its polarity every several hundred thousand years, where the magnetic north pole resides at the geographic South Pole. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Earth's roaming magnetic poles create longer periods of instability, study says," 7 Aug. 2019 Earth’s magnetic field is known to flip direction with a somewhat unnerving regularity: magnetic north switches to south, and vice versa. — Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, "Earth’s Magnetic Field Reversal Took Three Times Longer Than Thought," 7 Aug. 2019 The magnetic needle on a compass points to magnetic North, rather than to the true north pole. — James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, "How To Use a Map and Compass," 19 July 2019 In order to make sense of this information a reference model like the WMM is needed to correct the measurements of magnetic north made by your phone to True North. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The Government Shutdown Is Messing with North," 15 Jan. 2019 But this three-bedroom house, designed for two astronomy photographers and positioned to face the magnetic north like the needle of a compass, is a point of convergence. — latimes.com, "Today: Russia, the Slapdown and the Silence," 27 Mar. 2018 The three-bedroom house was designed for two astronomy photographers and built to face magnetic north. — Neal J. Leitereg And Lauren Beale, latimes.com, "Hot Property: A potpourri of sorts," 31 Mar. 2018 The three-bedroom house was designed for two astronomy photographers and built to face the magnetic north like the needle of a compass. — Neal J. Leitereg, latimes.com, "Home of the Week: Unusual pyramid house in Malibu takes its cues from the sun and moon," 24 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'magnetic north.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more