How to Use magnetic north in a Sentence

magnetic north

noun
Definition of magnetic northnext
  • As Wired explains, the magnetic North Pole can move by as much as 40 miles a year.
    — Sophie Weiner, Popular Mechanics, 20 Jan. 2018
  • Earth's magnetic North Pole has shifted over the years.
    — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 3 Apr. 2020
  • For the purpose of using a compass, there are two types of north: true north and magnetic north.
    — The Editors, Outdoor Life, 5 Jan. 2021
  • The magnetic needle on a compass points to magnetic North, rather than to the true north pole.
    — James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, 19 July 2019
  • Its red end always points to the Earth’s magnetic north (not the same as the North Pole), which is zero degrees on a 360-degree scale.
    — Washington Post, 5 July 2021
  • Leading the expedition was the already famous James Clark Ross, who had been the first to stand atop the magnetic north pole.
    — David James, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2019
  • The Bermuda Triangle is one of two places on Earth where a compass will point to true north instead of magnetic north.
    — Ashley Stimpson, Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2022
  • Earth’s magnetic north pole has shifted away from Canada and closer to Siberia at a rapid pace in recent years.
    — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The magnetic north pole has been moving away from Canada and toward Russia since then, Dwyer said.
    — Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 11 July 2022
  • This field sometimes flips — magnetic north is sometimes at the top of the world, and sometimes at the bottom — so over time a barcode-like magnetic pattern emerges in rocks on the seafloor.
    — Quanta Magazine, 14 Apr. 2021
  • The second part lies in understanding that the needle of your compass always points toward the magnetic north pole.
    — Gary Garth, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2020
  • And, while a flip is probably not imminent, the location of magnetic north changes even on human time scales.
    — Don Lincoln, CNN, 26 Jan. 2023
  • 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, 24 Mar. 2018
  • The magnetic north pole, for example, is slithering eastward at break-neck speed.
    — Popular Mechanics, 26 May 2022
  • That’s a big deal, since current fluctuations suggest magnetic north might be gearing up for such a major shift soon.
    — Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2019
  • The needle of a compass always points in this direction, and the angle of difference between true north and magnetic north is called the declination.
    — The Editors, Outdoor Life, 5 Jan. 2021
  • Joling’s phone did not calculate the difference between magnetic north and true north.
    — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Jan. 2023
  • 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, 8 Aug. 2019
  • The three-bedroom house was designed for two astronomy photographers and built to face magnetic north.
    — Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale, latimes.com, 31 Mar. 2018
  • First, adjust your compass’s declination (the difference between magnetic north and true north), which should be listed on your topo map.
    — Outside Online, 2 Aug. 2021
  • Over the last 200 years, it’s been slowly weakening and shifting its magnetic north pole (where a compass points, not to be confused with the geographic north pole) from the Canadian Arctic toward Siberia.
    — Chris Holt, Discover Magazine, 31 Aug. 2021
  • The weak solar wind, combined with the alignment of the north magnetic poles of the sun and Earth, constricted a normally expansive swath of northern lights into a tight, rotating spot above magnetic north.
    — Mark Garlick, National Geographic, 20 July 2021
  • 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, 27 Mar. 2018
  • Meanwhile, the magnetic north pole is shifting off its usual axis and no one in the scientific community can explain why.
    — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 20 Sep. 2021
  • The magnetic north and south pole are always slightly off-center from the geographic poles that form the spin axis, but their locations average out around the geographic poles over time.
    — Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 26 Nov. 2018
  • Set on one of the highest points in the Santa Monica Mountains, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom pyramid is oriented to face the magnetic north — the northern pole of Earth’s magnetic field that runs vertically down the planet.
    — Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2020
  • The needle does not point at the actual geographical location of magnetic north.
    — Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2022
  • In the planet’s 4.6-billion-year history, the field has frequently flipped, swapping magnetic north and south, and some research suggests that another flip may be on the geological horizon.
    — National Geographic, 2 Oct. 2019
  • The book is extremely easy to follow, guiding readers through everything from reading symbols and contours on topo maps, to the difference between true north and magnetic north, to using the night sky or flora and fauna to orient yourself.
    — The Editors, Outside Online, 9 Mar. 2022
  • Though Mars once had a magnetic north and south like Earth, its internal dynamo, or liquid metal interior, stopped churning billions of years ago, stripping the planet of its global magnetic field.
    — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Feb. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'magnetic north.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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