power

English Online Dictionary. What means power‎? What does power mean?

English

Alternative forms

• powre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English power, poer, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin potēre, from Latin posse, whence English potent. Compare French pouvoir. Displaced the native Old English anweald.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpaʊ̯ə̯/, /ˈpaʊ̯.ə/
  • (with triphthong smoothing) IPA^(key): [ˈpʰaə], [ˈpʰaː], [ˈpʰɑː]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpaʊ̯.ɚ/, /ˈpaʊ̯ɹ/, [ˈpʰaʊ̯ɚ], [ˈpʰaʊ̯ɹ]
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈpæʊ̯.ə/, [ˈpʰæʊ̯ə], [ˈpæɔ̯ə], [ˈpʰɛəː] (increasingly broader)
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈpaʊ̯.(ə)ɹ/, [p(ʰ)äʊ̯(ə)ɹ]
  • (dialectal) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌʊ̯.(ə)ɹ/, [p(ʰ)əw(ə)ɹ]
• Hyphenation: pow‧er
• Rhymes: -aʊ.ə(ɹ), -aʊə(ɹ)

Noun

power (countable and uncountable, plural powers)

1. The ability to do or undergo something.
2. (social) The ability to coerce, influence, or control.
   1. (countable) The ability to affect or influence.
   2. The ability or authority to control, govern, command, coerce, etc., such as in a legal, political or business sphere.
   3. (metonymic, chiefly in the plural) The people in charge of legal or political power, the government.

      Synonym: powers that be

   4. (metonymic) A strong or influential nation, company, or other such body.
   5. (metonymic, archaic) An army, a military force.
3. (physical, uncountable) Strength, energy.
   1. Physical force or strength.

   2. (attributive) Designating one who does something forcefully or on a large or grand scale.

   3. The production or flow of energy providing means to do work.

   5. (specifically) Electricity or a supply of electricity.
   6. (physics) The rate at which work is done or energy is transferred, expressed in units of energy per unit of time.

   7. The strength by which a lens or mirror magnifies an optical image.

5. (colloquial, dated outside the phrase 'power of good') A large amount or number.

   do a power of good
6. Any of the elementary forms or parts of machines: three primary (the lever, inclined plane, and pulley) and three secondary (the wheel-and-axle, wedge, and screw).

   the mechanical powers

7. (trucking) A tractor.

8. (physics, mechanics) A measure of the effectiveness that a force producing a physical effect has over time. If linear, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the displacement of or in an object) ÷ time. If rotational, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the angle of displacement) ÷ time.
9. (mathematics)
   2. A product of equal factors (and generalizations of this notion): ${displaystyle x^}$, read as "${displaystyle x}$ to the power of ${displaystyle n}$" or the like, is called a power and denotes the product ${displaystyle x\times x\times \cdots \times x}$, where ${displaystyle x}$ appears ${displaystyle n}$ times in the product; ${displaystyle x}$ is called the base and ${displaystyle n}$ the exponent.
   3. (set theory) Cardinality.
   4. (statistics) The probability that a statistical test will reject the null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is true.
10. (biblical, in the plural) In Christian angelology, an intermediate level of angels, ranked above archangels, but exact position varies by classification scheme.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:power

Antonyms

• impotence
• weakness

Derived terms

Related terms

• possible
• potent

Collocations

Descendants

• → German: Power
• → Welsh: pŵer

Translations

See also

Other terms used in arithmetic operations:

Advanced hyperoperations: tetration, pentation, hexation

Verb

power (third-person singular simple present powers, present participle powering, simple past and past participle powered)

1. (transitive) To provide power for (a mechanical or electronic device).

2. (transitive) To hit or kick something forcefully.
3. To enable or provide the impetus for.
4. (intransitive) To move or advance with great force or speed.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

power (comparative more power, superlative most power)

1. (Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial) Impressive.

Interjection

power

1. (Philippines, colloquial) Used as a cheer to express support (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

See also

• more power to someone

Further reading

• “power”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• powre

German

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French pauvre, from Latin pauper.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoːvər/, [ˈpoːvɐ]
• Hyphenation: po‧wer

Adjective

power (strong nominative masculine singular powerer, comparative powerer, superlative am powersten)

1. (regional, informal) poor, miserable

Declension

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaʊ̯ər/, [ˈpaʊ̯ɐ]
• Homophone: Power

Verb

power

1. singular imperative of powern
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of powern

Further reading

• “power” in Duden online
• “power” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache