pow·er (pou  r)n.1. The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively. 2. A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude. Often used in the plural: her powers of concentration. 3. Strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted; might. See Synonyms at strength. 4. The ability or official capacity to exercise control; authority. 5. A person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others: the western powers. 6. The might of a nation, political organization, or similar group. 7. Forcefulness; effectiveness: a novel of unusual power. 8. Chiefly Upper Southern U.S. A large number or amount. See Regional Note at powerful. 9. a. The energy or motive force by which a physical system or machine is operated: turbines turned by steam power; a sailing ship driven by wind power. b. The capacity of a system or machine to operate: a vehicle that runs under its own power. c. Electrical or mechanical energy, especially as used to assist or replace human energy. d. Electricity supplied to a home, building, or community: a storm that cut off power to the whole region. 10. Physics The rate at which work is done, expressed as the amount of work per unit time and commonly measured in units such as the watt and horsepower. 11. Electricity a. The product of applied potential difference and current in a direct-current circuit. b. The product of the effective values of the voltage and current with the cosine of the phase angle between current and voltage in an alternating-current circuit. 12. Mathematics b. The number of elements in a finite set. 13. Statistics The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis where it is false. 14. A measure of the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope. 15. powers Christianity The sixth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. 16. Archaic An armed force. adj.1. Of or relating to political, social, or economic control: a power struggle; a power base. 2. Operated with mechanical or electrical energy in place of bodily exertion: a power tool; power car windows. 3. Of or relating to the generation or transmission of electricity: power companies; power lines. 4. Informal Of or relating to influential business or professional practices: a pinstriped suit with a power tie; met with high-level executives at a power breakfast. tr.v. pow·ered, pow·er·ing, pow·ers To supply with power, especially mechanical power. Idiom: powers that be Those who hold effective power in a system or situation: a plan vetoed by the powers that be.
[Middle English, from Old French pooir, to be able, power, from Vulgar Latin *pot re, to be able, from potis, able, powerful; see poti- in Indo-European roots.] |
power Noun 1. ability to do something 2. (often pl) a specific ability or faculty 3. political, financial, or social force or authority: men's use of power over women in a subordinate position in the workforce, economic power is the bedrock of political power 4. a position of control, esp. over the running of a country: he seized power in a coup in 1966 5. a state with political, industrial, or military strength 6. a person or group having authority 7. a prerogative or privilege: the power of veto 8. official or legal authority 9. Maths the value of a number or quantity raised to some exponent 10. Physics, engineering a measure of the rate of doing work expressed as the work done per unit time 11. the rate at which electrical energy is fed into or taken from a device or system, measured in watts 12. mechanical energy as opposed to manual labour 13. a particular form of energy: nuclear power 14. the magnifying capacity of a lens or optical system 15. Informal a great deal: a power of good 16. the powers that be established authority Verb to supply with power Adjective producing or using electrical energy: a large selection of power tools [Anglo-Norman poer]
power (pour)1. The source of energy used to operate a machine or other system. 2. The rate at which work is done, or energy expended, per unit time. Power is usually measured in watts (especially for electrical power) or horsepower (especially for mechanical power). For a path conducting electrical current, such as a component in an electric circuit, P = VI, where P is the power dissipated along the path, V is the voltage across the path, and I is the current through the path. Compare energywork 3. Mathematics The number of times a number or expression is multiplied by itself, as shown by an exponent. Thus ten to the sixth power, or 106, equals one million. 4. A number that represents the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope. A 500-power microscope can magnify an image to 500 times its original size. |
Power an abundance; a body of armed men; a fighting force; a large quantity, a great number— Johnson, 1755. Examples: power of angels; of followers; of good, 1770; of goods (provisions); of horsemen, 1553; of fine ladies, 1706; of laymen, 1641; of men of war, 1523; of money, 1680; of poor people, 1661; of servants, 1801; of good things, 1755; of troops; of years.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  power - possession of controlling influence; "the deterrent power of nuclear weapons"; "the power of his love saved her"; "his powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade"quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare effectiveness, potency, strength - capacity to produce strong physiological or chemical effects; "the toxin's potency"; "the strength of the drinks" valence, valency - (chemistry) a property of atoms or radicals; their combining power given in terms of the number of hydrogen atoms (or the equivalent) valence, valency - (biology) a relative capacity to unite or react or interact as with antigens or a biological substrate preponderance - superiority in power or influence; "the preponderance of good over evil"; "the preponderance of wealth and power" puissance - power to influence or coerce; "the puissance of the labor vote" persuasiveness, strength - the power to induce the taking of a course of action or the embracing of a point of view by means of argument or entreaty; "the strength of his argument settled the matter" interestingness, interest - the power of attracting or holding one's attention (because it is unusual or exciting etc.); "they said nothing of great interest"; "primary colors can add interest to a room" chokehold, stranglehold, throttlehold - complete power over a person or situation; "corporations have a stranglehold on the media"; "the president applied a chokehold to labor disputes that inconvenienced the public" sway - controlling influence influence - a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc; "used her parents' influence to get the job" control - power to direct or determine; "under control" jurisdiction, legal power - (law) the right and power to interpret and apply the law; "courts having jurisdiction in this district" disposal - the power to use something or someone; "used all the resources at his disposal" veto - the power or right to prohibit or reject a proposed or intended act (especially the power of a chief executive to reject a bill passed by the legislature) | | 2. | power - (physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second)physical phenomenon - a natural phenomenon involving the physical properties of matter and energy waterpower - the power to do work that is latent in a head of water | | 3. |  power - possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done; "danger heightened his powers of discrimination"know-how - the (technical) knowledge and skill required to do something leadership - the ability to lead; "he believed that leadership can be taught" intelligence - the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience bilingualism - the ability to speak two languages colloquially mental ability, capacity - the power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior originality - the ability to think and act independently science, skill - ability to produce solutions in some problem domain; "the skill of a well-trained boxer"; "the sweet science of pugilism" hand - ability; "he wanted to try his hand at singing" | | 4. | power - (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power; "being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage"; "during his first year in office"; "during his first year in power"; "the power of the president"state - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" executive clemency - the power (usually of a president or governor) to pardon or commute the sentence of someone convicted in that jurisdiction war power - an extraordinary power exercised (usually by the executive branch) in the prosecution of a war and involving an extension of the powers that the government normally has in peacetime | | 5. | power - one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority; "the mysterious presence of an evil power"; "may the force be with you"; "the forces of evil"influence - one having power to influence another; "she was the most important influence in my life"; "he was a bad influence on the children" Moloch - a tyrannical power to be propitiated by human subservience or sacrifice; "the great Moloch of war"; "duty has become the Moloch of modern life"- Norman Douglas | | 6. | power - a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itselfdegree - the highest power of a term or variable logarithm, log - the exponent required to produce a given number | | 7. |  power - physical strengthstrength - the property of being physically or mentally strong; "fatigue sapped his strength" | | 8. |  power - a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the worldbody politic, country, nation, res publica, commonwealth, state, land - a politically organized body of people under a single government; "the state has elected a new president"; "African nations"; "students who had come to the nation's capitol"; "the country's largest manufacturer"; "an industrialized land" hegemon - a leading or paramount power | | 9. |  power - a very wealthy or powerful businessman; "an oil baron"oil tycoon - a powerful person in the oil business | | Verb | 1. | power - supply the force or power for the functioning of; "The gasoline powers the engines"drive - cause to function by supplying the force or power for or by controlling; "The amplifier drives the tube"; "steam drives the engines"; "this device drives the disks for the computer" cater, ply, provide, supply - give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests" |
power noun 1. control, authority, influence, command, sovereignty, sway, dominance, domination, supremacy, mastery, dominion, ascendancy, mana N.Z.  Translations power [ˈpauəʳ] n → poder m (= strength); fuerza (= nation); potencia (= drive); empuje m; the world powers → las potencias mundiales
 power [ˈpauəʳ] n (= strength, nation) → puissance f, force f (= ability), ( Pol) [ of party, leader]; pouvoir m; the world powers → les grandes puissances;
 power [ˈpauəʳ] n (= control, legal right) → Macht f (= ability); Fähigkeit f [ of muscles, ideas, words] → Kraft f [ of explosion, engine] → Gewalt f (= electricity); Strom m; 2 to the power (of) 3 ( Math) → 2 hoch 3;
 power [ˈpauəʳ] n (= strength) → potenza, forza (= ability), ( POL) [ of party, leader] → potere m; the world powers → le grandi potenze;
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