What does it mean for a force to act at a distance?

Answer: The force exerted by a magnet is called The push or pull of magnetism can act at a distance, which means that the magnet does not have to touch an object to exert a force on it ... You may be familiar with magnets attracting, or pulling, metal objects toward them.

Action-at-a-distance forces are those types of forces that result even when the two interacting objects are not in physical contact with each other, yet are able to exert a push or pull despite their physical separation