Definition of "iron filings" [iron filings]

• Small fragments of iron, filed from a bar; used to visualize the presence of a magnetic field, and as a food additive (noun)

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• "He smells of wind and night, and something deeper, imbued with power that I cannot identify but which I yearn for as iron filings will lean toward a lodestone."
• "There are often unused hoards of maternal affection enough to set up an orphan-asylum; but it 's like iron filings and a magnet, – you must try them with a live child and if there is anything in 'em you find it out."