magnetic iron-ore
- noun
- Specialized
- A piece of magnetic iron-ore will cling tightly to a magnet due to its high iron content.
Examples
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The steel industry relies heavily on magnetic iron-ore as a raw material.
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Geologists discovered a deposit of magnetic iron-ore deep beneath the mountain.
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The magnetic iron-ore is valuable.
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Wow, that's a lot of magnetic iron-ore!
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A piece of magnetic iron-ore will cling tightly to a magnet due to its high iron content.
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Geologists discovered a deposit of magnetic iron-ore deep beneath the mountain.
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The steel industry relies heavily on magnetic iron-ore as a raw material.
Synonyms
A rock or mineral that has metal you can take out and sell
A rock that contains metal used to make steel
A black magnetic mineral made of iron and oxygen found in hard rocks
Surface Forms
Morphology
magnetic + iron-ore
The phrase is fully compositional: 'magnetic' (having magnetism) simply modifies 'iron-ore' (ore containing iron), so the meaning — iron-bearing ore that is strongly attracted by magnets — follows directly from the parts. This is a literal, cross-linguistically common modifier+noun combination that a B1 learner who knows 'magnetic', 'iron' and 'ore' can readily infer.
Etymology
Magnetic iron-ore comes from the simple image of pieces of rock full of iron that actually stick to a magnet. Miners saw these rocks cling to a magnet, so calling them magnetic iron-ore tells us they are 'iron-rich rock that is strongly attracted to magnets'.