verb (used with object)
- to demagnetize (a ship’s hull, electrical equipment, etc.) by means of electric coils.
verb (tr)
- to neutralize the magnetic field of a ship’s hull (as a protection against magnetic mines) using equipment producing an opposing magnetic field
- another word for demagnetize
“de-magnetize,” originally especially of ships as a defense against magnetic mines, 1940, from German scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a pioneer in the study of magnetics.
- To neutralize or rebalance the magnetic field of a magnetized object, such as a computer monitor or the read/write head of a disk drive or tape recorder.
- To erase information from a magnetic disk, tape, or other magnetic storage device.