The magnet emoji is Magnet, U+1F9F2, in Unicode's list since Emoji 11.0. Unicode files it with the tools, between Toolbox and Ladder, and no other emoji has magnet in its name.
Read the full guide
The magnet's eight search words
CLDR, Unicode's list of search words, gives the magnet eight: attraction, horseshoe, magnet, magnetic, negative, positive, shape and u. Six lead to no other emoji. Magnetic is shared with Compass, and negative with Chart decreasing.
Why the magnet is a horseshoe
By Wikipedia a horseshoe magnet is one made in a U shape, and the permanent kind has become the most widely recognized symbol for magnets, usually shown red with its north and south poles marked. Hence the words horseshoe, shape and u.
Opposite poles attract, by Wikipedia, so [N|S] [N|S] is two bar magnets about to meet.
Break a bar magnet in two and, by Wikipedia, each piece has a north and a south pole of its own.
Questions and answers
What does the magnet emoji mean?
Unicode gives it a name and no meaning. Its CLDR words point to attraction and to positive and negative. By Wikipedia a magnet pulls on iron, steel, nickel and cobalt, and attracts or repels other magnets.
How do you make a magnet in text?
Type [N|S] for a bar magnet: a north pole and a south pole in square brackets. N|_|S is a horseshoe magnet with its poles up.
Is there a magnet symbol that is not an emoji?
One: U+1F753, Alchemical symbol for lodestone, which Unicode also calls magnes. By Wikipedia lodestones are naturally magnetized pieces of the mineral magnetite. A device with no font for the sign shows an empty box, so ∩ is the safer shape.
All 58 items
Magnet and metal 12
🔋BatteryU+1F50B. This page's pick, for a positive end and a negative end. Emoji 0.6.
🪙CoinU+1FA99. The only emoji filed under metal. Emoji 13.0.
🧭CompassU+1F9ED. The only other emoji CLDR files under magnetic. Emoji 11.0.
⬇️Down arrowU+2B07 U+FE0F. The only emoji filed under south. Emoji 0.6.
🔌Electric plugU+1F50C. Filed under electric and electricity. Emoji 0.6.
⚡High voltageU+26A1. Filed under electric and electricity. This page's pick for an electromagnet. Emoji 0.6.
🪜LadderU+1FA9C. It comes just after the magnet in Unicode's list of tools. Emoji 13.0.
🧲MagnetU+1F9F2. The magnet emoji. Filed under attraction, horseshoe, magnet, magnetic, negative, positive, shape and u. Emoji 11.0.
🔩Nut and boltU+1F529. A tool, like the magnet, in Unicode's list. This page's pick for something a magnet picks up. Emoji 0.6.
📎PaperclipU+1F4CE. This page's pick: the classic thing to hang off a magnet. Emoji 0.6.
🧰ToolboxU+1F9F0. It comes just before the magnet in Unicode's list of tools. Emoji 11.0.
⬆️Up arrowU+2B06 U+FE0F. The only emoji filed under north. Emoji 0.6.
Show all 58 items (46 more)
Science row 7
⚛️Atom symbolU+269B U+FE0F. Filed under atom. Emoji 1.0.
🌍Globe showing Europe-AfricaU+1F30D. By Wikipedia a magnet's north pole is the one that points toward the Earth's North Magnetic Pole. Emoji 0.7.
🥼Lab coatU+1F97C. Filed under lab and experiment. Emoji 11.0.
🔬MicroscopeU+1F52C. Filed under science and lab. Emoji 1.0.
🧑🔬ScientistU+1F9D1 U+200D U+1F52C. Filed under physicist and scientist. Emoji 12.1.
🔭TelescopeU+1F52D. Filed under science. Emoji 1.0.
🧪Test tubeU+1F9EA. Filed under science and experiment. Emoji 11.0.
Magnet signs 8
🝓Alchemical symbol for lodestoneU+1F753. Unicode's one other magnet: a lodestone is a natural magnet, and Unicode's second name for this sign is magnes. Not an emoji: a device with no font for it shows an empty box.
⊖Circled minusU+2296. A minus in a circle, for the negative end.
⊕Circled plusU+2295. A plus in a circle, for the positive end.
μGreek small letter muU+03BC. By Wikipedia a magnet's magnetic moment is usually written with this letter.
∩IntersectionU+2229. A horseshoe with its poles down. A plain maths sign that pastes anywhere.
𝐁Mathematical bold capital bU+1D401. By Wikipedia the magnetic field is usually written as a bold B.
⊃Superset ofU+2283. A horseshoe on its side, poles to the left.
∪UnionU+222A. A horseshoe with its poles up.
Typed magnets 7
(+)|_|(-)The same horseshoe with a plus and a minus on the poles.
[N=====S]A longer bar magnet.
N|_|SA horseshoe magnet with its poles up.
[N|S]A bar magnet: its north pole and its south pole in one bracket.
[N|S] <-- oA bar magnet pulling a ball bearing in.
[N|S] [N|S]Two bar magnets with a south pole facing a north pole: by Wikipedia, opposite poles attract.
[N|S][N|S]The same two, stuck together.
Magnet drawings 3
Bar magnet and its field, in ASCIIA bar magnet with one loop of its field drawn above and one below, each running from the north pole round to the south. Five lines.
Horseshoe magnet, in ASCIIA U-shaped magnet with N and S on its poles. Six lines. Needs monospaced text.
Note on the fridge, in ASCIIA round magnet holding a note to a door. Five lines.
Magnet lines 7
🧲 drawn to the snack tableFor any party.
🧲 magnetic personality, apparentlyFor a profile line.
🧲 opposites attractFor two people who should not get on and do.
🧲 science fair: magnets, obviouslyFor a school project.
🧲 stuck on this oneFor a problem that will not come loose.
🧲 this one goes on the fridgeFor a drawing worth keeping.
🧲 trouble finds meFor a week of small disasters.
Magnet combos 14
🌍🧲🧭Earth is a magnetGlobe showing Europe-Africa, then magnet, then compass.
🧲⚡ElectromagnetMagnet, then high voltage. By Wikipedia, a coil of wire that is a magnet while a current runs through it.
🧲🔩✅Lost screw, foundMagnet, then nut and bolt, then check mark button.
🧲🧭Magnet and compassMagnet, then compass. The two emoji CLDR files under magnetic.
🧲🧪🥼Magnet experimentMagnet, then test tube, then lab coat.
🧲🎣Magnet fishingMagnet, then fishing pole.
🧲😎Magnetic personalityMagnet, then smiling face with sunglasses.
🧲💰Money magnetMagnet, then money bag.
⬆️🧲⬇️North and southUp arrow, then magnet, then down arrow.
📝🧲🚪Note held to the doorMemo, then magnet, then door. By Wikipedia, the everyday example of a permanent magnet holds a note to a refrigerator door.
🧲❤️🧲Opposites attractMagnet, then red heart, then magnet.
🧲📎📎📎Picking up paperclipsMagnet, then paperclip, three times.
➕🧲➖Positive and negativePlus, then magnet, then minus.
🧲🧲Stuck togetherMagnet, twice.
How this list was compiled: Built on 2026-10-13 from sources read that day. The emoji, their names, code points, order and Emoji version numbers are from the Unicode emoji list, version 18.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt); emoji names are the CLDR short names printed in that file. Search words are from the CLDR English annotations (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotations/en.xml and https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotationsDerived/en.xml). Magnet is U+1F9F2, Emoji 11.0, in the tool subgroup between Toolbox and Ladder; CLDR lists eight words for it and files no other emoji under attraction, horseshoe, magnet, positive, shape or u, one more under magnetic (Compass) and one more under negative (Chart decreasing). Character names are from UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt), in sentence case; the only other character named for a magnet is U+1F753 Alchemical symbol for lodestone, whose second name, magnes, is from NamesList.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt) and whose Unicode version, 6.0, is from DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt). Unicode data is used under the Unicode terms of use (https://www.unicode.org/terms_of_use.html). What a magnet pulls on, that opposite poles attract, which pole is north, the electromagnet, the refrigerator magnet, the letters for the magnetic field and the magnetic moment and which way the field lines run are restated from Wikipedia, Magnet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet, CC BY-SA 4.0); the U shape and how a horseshoe magnet is usually shown from Wikipedia, Horseshoe magnet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_magnet); what a lodestone is from Wikipedia, Lodestone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodestone). The typed magnets, the three drawings, the lines and the combos are this site's own work; a tile marked this page's pick is this site's own choice. Licence: own work: the selection, the combo names, the typed lines, the text drawings and the notes are this site's own. Emoji names, code points and search words are Unicode and CLDR data, used under the Unicode License v3 (https://www.unicode.org/license.txt). Facts from Wikipedia and Wiktionary are restated in this site's own words and credited in the source line.